Where New Ideas Come to Life

The all-new MS2 space in Pixon is a collaborative environment designed for entrepreneurs

October 27, 2020

When designing the new 16,000-square-foot MS2 space, the Lake Nona team wanted to create working lab that supports collaboration for its occupants: entrepreneurs working to bring their burgeoning ideas to life. As home to the leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech Accelerator program, the space was planned so health and tech startups can conceive, test, and implement their ideas equipped with the latest technology in a stimulating and engaging environment.

“We designed and built the space with as few fixed elements as possible,” said Juan Santos, senior vice president of innovation at Tavistock Development Company, Lake Nona’s developer. “The space is meant to be shared and flexible so that the configuration can change over time as innovations and occupants come and go.”

Where New Ideas Come to Life 3

Featuring an open floor plan, the sharp, industrial space showcases shiny concrete floors accentuated with adjustable furniture and highlighted with bright pops of original artwork. Shared spaces include the main working area with roughly 40 workstations, a large conference room, two smaller team rooms, and two quiet rooms. Startups will have access to 3D printers and flexible power accessibility wherever they are in the lab. MS2 is also Lake Nona’s latest building to feature View Smart Windows that predictively tint to outdoor conditions.

Originally intended to accommodate a drive-through, the MS2 space now boasts two garage door entrances allowing startups to bring large projects in and out with ease.

Custom art flows throughout MS2 with designs inspired by its intended use – innovation at the intersection of technology and human performance – and the equation for acceleration, MS2 (meters per second squared).

In the main work space, a blue vinyl wallpaper designed by local artist and Tavistock Development Company Senior Graphic Designer Carissa Bloemeke displays mathematical graphs of MS2. The wallpaper wraps around the entryway to the space’s color-coded conference rooms where the exterior color of each line emanating from the room matches the interior color to purposefully tie the space together. Additional artwork on the walls includes hand-painted, monochromatic designs illustrating circuit board hardware.

But, some of the space’s coolest features are the ones you can’t see like the advanced Wi-Fi with location-based services and access to exclusive indoor Verizon 5G wireless technology. Combined, those emerging technologies can support new innovations that track human movement, power augmented reality, and more.

“What’s unique about the MS2 innovation space is that it truly extends outside the building and into Lake Nona’s living lab community,” said Santos.

In addition to MS2, startups in the accelerator program will have the opportunity to test their innovations in real life. The location of the new innovation space in Lake Nona Town Center was an intentional addition to Pixon’s mixed-use environment.

Santos says, “Mixed-use often means residential and retail, but at Pixon it means a collection of collaborative spaces designed to enhance wellbeing and innovation.”

Pixon is truly a mixed-use project with apartments, a coffeeshop that flows into a vibrant, accessible lobby, local restaurants, boutique fitness studios, and now a collaborative innovation space.

MS2 is the latest example of Lake Nona’s commitment to building an ecosystem of innovation and technology that thrives on collaboration and we’re excited to see what new health and technology breakthroughs this space will facilitate.

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