This Futuristic XR Lab Looks Straight Out of a Sci-Fi Film

The futuristic XR Lab in the U.K. was designed by WindsorPatania Architects for collaboration and development around mixed reality tech.

Mar 28, 2025 - 20:12

This Futuristic XR Lab Looks Straight Out of a Sci-Fi Film

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), collectively known together as Mixed Reality (XR), are rapidly advancing as companies focus on miniaturizing AR technology and enhancing VR capabilities. While fully immersive virtual collaboration may be the future, today’s priority is to develop, learn, and collaborate on XR technology in the physical world. This vision is at the heart of the new XR Lab, designed by WindsorPatania Architects.

The new XR Lab space is located at West Suffolk College in the United Kingdom, and was recently awarded the Inspiring Learning Space Award at the 2024 Education Estates Awards. The lab is an impressive high-tech space featuring a “Collaboration Theatre,” a Green Room, and a Conference Room. But this Green Room isn’t the typical waiting area used in theaters or backstage of a concert venue – it’s a fully immersive environment with green ceilings, walls, and floors, designed to make it easier to isolate real-world objects by removing the background, similar to green screen effects used in film production.

Though it might seem that interior design wouldn’t be a priority in a space dedicated to virtual experiences, the architecture is striking. The XR Lab repurposes an old workshop hangar and incorporates acoustic insulation to enhance XR immersion. Inside, high-end cameras and microphones are strategically placed to create a more natural and seamless XR experience. Beyond serving as a cutting-edge learning environment, the lab is also positioned as a business hub for the surrounding region, particularly focused on the development of XR projectors. “The XR Lab is truly an inspired learning space, where ambitious architecture embodies the function of the building,” says Giovanni Patania, co-director of WindsonPatania. “We are very proud to have been part of this exciting and game-changing educational initiative.”

The design of the lab’s other spaces leans into a futuristic, modern aesthetic. This is emphasized by the 3D triangular mesh adorning the building’s exterior, symbolizing the advanced 3D technology being explored and developed within.

“We had different sources of inspiration for this project, which combined helped us deliver the wow factor our client wanted,” Patania says. “We reimagined the likes of the Tesla factories in the United States and the boxy Tesla Cybertruck, and even the minimalistic, monochrome interiors from the Men in Black films.”