Leading global design firm Stantec has completed the interior design and furniture, finishes, and equipment (FF&E) services for UPSIDE Foods’ new Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center (EPIC)—one of the world’s most advanced cultivated meat production facilities. Part of a new 53,000-square-foot campus, the project included the conversion of an existing grocery store into a modern research and production facility with a private dining room, showcase kitchen, open office, and an all-hands space with stadium seating for presentations and collaboration.

UPSIDE Foods is a leading company in the cultivated meat, poultry, and seafood industry. The EPIC facility is designed to produce any species of meat, poultry, and seafood directly from animal cells, instead of relying on raising and slaughtering animals. This new space represents a major step forward in UPSIDE’s mission to bring real, delicious meat to the world in a more humane and sustainable way.

Stantec provided comprehensive interior design services that bring the space alive with the use of architectural materials and branding. Utilizing natural materials, bold metal accents, and feature lighting, the new facility is designed to create an exciting and dynamic workplace that embraces employee collaboration and retention. The design team also helped develop creative branding and feature walls, including a four-foot glowing logo that can be seen from the Emeryville Public Market entry—a 270,000-square-foot mixed-use development featuring retail, office, and food hall.

“UPSIDE Food’s goal to create a more sustainable and compassionate source of meat products requires professionals from a variety of backgrounds and industries to work closely together. The result is a space that fosters collaboration and creativity at all levels, supporting long-term success,” said Heidi Dunn, senior associate and project manager at Stantec. “We’re proud to have designed a space that will meet UPSIDE’s needs now and for years to come.”

Stantec is currently providing architecture and interior design services for an additional UPSIDE Foods project on the same site. The team is converting an existing brick warehouse into a modern office with research and development space, with similar interior design, branding, and furniture concepts as the EPIC facility.

Stantec has a long history of creating collaborative research and lab spaces. Recently, the firm provided architecture and interior design services for The BEAT—a retrofit of the former Boston Globe headquarters into a 695,000-square-foot multistory hub for creative office, laboratory, and retail uses.

About Stantec Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That's why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

We care about the communities we serve—because they're our communities too. This allows us to assess what's needed and connect our expertise, to appreciate nuances and envision what's never been considered, to bring together diverse perspectives so we can collaborate toward a shared success.

We're designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe.

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