The Neuron Pod is a multifunctional education space built for the children’s charity Centre of the Cell, which teaches local kids about science. It was commissioned as an extension to the hugely successful Will Alsop designed Blizard Building which is home to Queen Mary’s University of Cell and Molecular Science. The original Centre of the Cell pod is an orange GRP pod that hangs within the central atrium space overlooking the main laboratories at work.

Following it’s sister pods Neuron pod is based on a cell, a Neuron cell, with fibre optic hairs on its outer skin that mimic the cells ‘dendrites’. The structure itself is a corten steel monoquoc, the structural designed by AKT and made by Littlehampton Welding. It arrived on site in 13 separate pieces, each craned into place and welded in situ.

The internal space has a bumpy texture on the wall to give the feel of being inside a cell with different coloured lights and bacteria patterns. It has a flexible layout for various different uses including evening lectures and performances. It has been extremely popular since it opened in 2019.