Formo Culture Campus

Animal-free Dairy Production

Formo is a food biotech company on the mission to bring the next generation of sustainable, healthy, and equitable dairy products to consumers.

The team at Formo is evolving dairy, using precision fermentation to create animal-free milk proteins in the lab, which are then turned into indulgent cheeses in the traditional, artisan way.

At the end of 2021, Formo teamed up with the Smart Lab Architects to find a new location for their R&D Lab as well as an ambitious Bioreactor pilot plant.

Not only did we find a beautiful lab space: we planned, designed, rebuilt & equipped all of its >1000m² across two floors, and finally guided the merge of Formo's existing R&D facility into this new building, the Formo "Culture Campus" - all within just six months.

Location
Frankfurt, DE
Client
Formo Bio
Year
2022
Area
600m² S1 R&D Lab
400m² Bioprocess Up- & Downstreaming
Scope
R&D Lab &
Pilot Production Plant
Status
Completed
in under 6 months

Project Overview

Discover
50 Locations
‍in 200km radius
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Discover
- 
  Location Requirements
- 
  Understanding Scientific Processes
- 
  Location Analysis
- 
  Landlord Negotiations
- 
  Due-Diligence Investigation
- 
  360° Virtual Tours
Design
80+ Detail Plans
Construction, HVAC, process-optimized Layouts & Equipment
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Design
- 
  Process-optimized Zoning
- 
  Lab Bench & Workspace Planning
- 
  Lab Equipment Planning
- 
  Custom Builds
- 
  HVAC Planning
- 
  Lighting
- 
  Custom Branding
Build
- S1 Biotech Lab
- Bioreactor Pilot Plant
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Build
- 
  Bioreactor Battle Station
- 
  S1 Walls & Floors
- 
  Deconstruction Works
- 
  Electricity, Water, Sewage & Gas Connections
- 
  Setup of additional Fume Hoods and Infrastructure
Buy
700 Machines & Consumables
75% financed through Leasing
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Buy
- 
  Equipment Financing / Leasing Framework
- 
  Central Logistics Hub
- 
  Lab Equipment
- 
  Lab Consumables
- 
  Smart Lab Equipment
- 
  Bioprocessing Equipment
- 
  Productivity & Workspace Ergonomics
- 
  Construction Materials
Move
4 Truckloads
transferred from prior Lab
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Move
- 
  Lab Furniture
- 
  Lab Equipment
- 
  Lab Consumables
- 
  Seamlessly Cooled Samples
- 
  Chemicals & Dangerous Goods
- 
  Bioprocessing Equipment
- 
  Office Equipment
Sprint
- 2 Weeks
- 12 SLA Experts
- 20+ Client Employees
- 10+ Construction & Service Companies
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Sprint
- 
  Lab Operational
- 
  All Regulatory Applications Done
- 
  Set up Lab Machines
- 
  Set up Lab Signage
- 
  Organize Consumables
- 
  Set up IT & Periphery
- 
  Set up Smart Lights & Sound System
- 
  Individual Sessions with Scientific Team
- 
  Built "Little Paradise" Outside Common Area
- 
  Weekend & Evening Activities

Discover
Finding a move-in-ready Lab the size of Formo's ambitions wasn't easy, so we searched the real estate market and evaluated over 80 sites all across western Germany and even in the Netherlands.
With our automated monitoring tools, we found an amazing location in Frankfurt within a week that ticked all the boxes and that passed the rigorous due diligence checks we conducted with our expert partners.
A month later we had a signed rental contract and were ready to go.
Design
In two months we designed the lab, planned all constructional changes, briefed the construction workers and zoned all lab rooms into an efficient layout, optimized for Formo's workflows.
For the custom builds that really give the lab its unique feel, we've generated 3D renderings and detailed technical specifications.
Our goal in every Lab we design is to make it a place that the team identifies with and enjoys working in.
The Formo Lab is no exception to that human-centric design approach, so we designed every aspect down to the rooms' signage to not only be efficient, but also visually appealing and in line with the Formo brand identity.
You can feel that this is a Formo Lab.
Build
Although the building Formo moved into was in great condition, we did need to break down parts of the previous lab and construct new spaces for the "Bioreactor Battle Station", the heart of Formo's precision fermentation pilot plant.
Luckily, our friends at Waldner were at the ready to help us out with their expertise and join us on-site with a specialist team.
Overall, around a dozen different construction companies were involved to get the lab operational. As we coordinate digitally with most of these interdisciplinary expert teams, we had the location move-in ready in a matter of weeks, not months.
Digital briefings to construction companies, supported by VR content that can be viewed on any phone at any time, ensured high quality and exact compliance with our design specifications without the need for micromanagement on site.
Equipping the Lab
Through our network of vendors, we procured a list of over 700 different consumables, machines, and other lab equipment items, managing more than a thousand requested positions in the process.
In a period of global supply chain interruptions, we are proud to have navigated most spontaneous manufacturer bottlenecks in days if not hours through the strength of these partnerships, showing the value of having great connections.
- Coordinated the delivery and distribution of about 20 palettes worth of Lab Equipment, buffered in a specialized storage facility
- Moved in 3 trailer truck loads from Formo's old Lab
- Arranged CapEx-friendly financing solutions, discounts and deployments of professionally refurbished equipment
- Brokered pre-service testing ("Inbetriebnahme") and maintenance contracts
Sprint
For a lab this size we've organized a two-week sprint to put all the pieces we've prepared in the previous months into place.
Together with the whole Formo team and many outstanding partners, we equipped the rooms with all kinds of lab machinery and consumables you need to create the future of food.
We installed smart lighting and multi-room sound systems, carried in the massive 100L bioreactor heart piece and even recycled the enormous wooden crate it came in into a terrace that invites for lunch together and after-work drinks in the sun.
All the while throughout the Sprint, we've kept distributing dozens of palettes of incoming shipments and truckloads of equipment that got moved from Formo's prior Lab.
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Gallery
Two weeks in 4 minutes
Join us for a glimpse into our intense two-week Sprint, the constructions, deliveries and final touches all happening in parallel to finally lead to a operationally furnished lab.