Darwin and Hawking's labs

Hawking's lab hangs over a bottomless pit of water, representing his quest to understand the universe and his interest and research into black holes and the unknown. The shape of his lab is based on squares, symbolising his holistic view of the world. The overall shape of his lab is simple, yet complex, with a small square cutting through all 3 levels, much like his quest to discover why "we and the universe exist." The connection between Hawkings and the universe is enhanced by the positioning of the lab- it looks out onto the horizon, an open and quite bare landscape, and faces the direction of the rising sun.

In contrast, Darwins lab is nestled in the terrain, surrounded by the earth and suitable for a naturalist.
The shape of the lab however deviates subtly from the terrain, with its triangular form and sharp angles. This represents his theory of natural selection and the importance of variation which enables life to evolve and progress. Like his ideas, Darwin's lab is immersed in the terrain but in many places rises above it to define itself.
His lab consists basically of two floor levels- the lowest of which can be reached by stepping off the top level. This step down is much like his theory of evolution, that things happen a step at a time.