New building promotes collaboration between researchers
The University of Edinburgh's Informatics Forum building, opened in 2008, has been designed to encourage interaction between staff and assist scientific breakthroughs, which often come from informal conversations.
Informatics research at the university, which has practical applications ranging from the design of automated robots, to the understanding of diseases and meteorological systems, was previously spread across three separate sites in out-of-date premises.
Opening the new building in September 2008, First Minister Alex Salmond praised the "world leading" Informatics Building and said it was "the very essence of economic success for the future of Scotland".