Across Britain, leading research departments are spending millions of pounds to foster modern workplaces of ingenuity and resourcefulness. Scientists have rarely been envied for the environments in which they work. And that view is not without justification. The image of the researcher stuck in a dingy lab, hunched over his or her instruments in perfect isolation from the world outside isn't always far from reality. But badly designed environments can hinder the flow of ideas and so the progress of research itself. But recently, industry and universities have started to wake up to the problem. The modern science workplaces that they have come up with are peppered with "rapid response areas", cybercafes, new start incubators and five-storey paintings.
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