A Space for the Future of Science BARNES HALL FRANKLIN COLLEGE
A Space for the Future of Science BARNES HALL, FRANKLIN COLLEGE When Franklin College decided to renovate and expand Barnes Hall, it wasn’t interested in simply updating its primary science building. Instead, the College wanted to update its science program, and it needed a space that would support that update. The result is a refresh and expansion that prepares Barnes Hall and everybody who works in it for a new world of inquiry. A 92-year-old building that has been expanded twice in the last three decades, Barnes Hall needed a holistic overhaul that would unify its spaces and its inhabitants for the sake of greater collaboration, interdisciplinary study, and ongoing growth. BSA LifeStructures achieved this by marrying its learning-space expertise with an emphasis on connections – among students, faculty, the broader college, and the community surrounding it – and an aesthetic highlighting natural growth, unification and an easy flow beyond outmoded boundaries. OVERVIEW The expansion and renovation of Barnes Hall supports Franklin College’s growing and increasingly nimble science curriculum that focuses on undergraduate research. The new spaces feature flexible lab space and large research labs that are visible and proximate to other student resources to encourage collaboration. The expansion and renovation enable Franklin to accommodate a continuum of student learning styles and puts science on display to engage all students. The building’s layout facilitates group learning, informal collaboration, and new instruction methods. The combination of the new curriculum and expanded space is expected to help the science program sustain team-based learning, increase emphasis on undergraduate research and prepare students for the demands of the marketplace.
Supporting Connections Carrying “connections” as one of its primary themes, the BSA design team focused on making Barnes Hall a concrete example of open and collaborative spaces that support team-based learning and interdisciplinary interaction. Classrooms feature “bear claw” tables rather than desks, allowing students to slide easily from lecture learning to collaborative experiences. The building is dotted by collaboration areas, with virtually every hallway, public area and even stairwells providing space for informal or focused conversations. In this way, the space not only supports learning but also prepares students for the collaborative environment that is overtaking today’s marketplace. Tying many of these spaces together are building materials that flow smoothly from one space to the next: a moss wall that spans three floors to draw the eye to another level, glass walls that open the view from one space or floor to another, and wood, concrete and other elements that tie spaces together beyond what otherwise might seem to be borders. The result? A space that not only allows connections, but encourages and supports them.
Science on display Originally built in a time when scientific study was a cloistered activity, Barnes Hall needed to advance into the era of open, collaborative, and flexible research spaces. BSA supported this move by creating and renovating lab and classroom spaces for transparency and connections. Glass walls put science on display, not only allowing students and faculty to interact more readily but also allowing passers-by to see the work being done in labs. Even faculty offices have increased transparency, allowing students to see when faculty are available for consultation and support. In addition to adding 40% more lab space to Barnes Hall, BSA also made lab spaces more flexible and able to conform readily to changes in the college’s and researchers’ needs and expectations. Labs can be expanded, reshaped and repurposed, and they flow smoothly into collaboration and classroom spaces, allowing students and faculty to enjoy seamless transitions from learning and collaborating to experiencing and discovering.
A study in sustainability Demonstrating its belief that the study of the natural world should be supported by a demonstrated appreciation of that world; Franklin College sought a space that fully embraced sustainability. Designed on a macro level for maximum daylight and efficient energy use, on a more “micro� level, the building allows users to act sustainably with features such as water-bottle filling stations and recycling areas. The materials used in the Barnes Hall renovation and expansion support this focus. Repurposed wood remnants
from the furniture industry were used to construct a threestory wall, compressed hardwood flooring was used in some spaces and the live wall acts as a tangible reminder of the natural world. The sustainability commitment continues to the outdoors, where the design includes features such as rain gardens, native plantings, and permeable surfaces. While the project did require the removal of a large walnut tree, the wood from that tree was used to create live-edge tabletops and other furniture pieces, a decision that fit with the project’s overall commitment to pursuing LEED standards.
A timeless aesthetic The past and future merge in the design aesthetic of the Barnes Hall renovation and expansion. Smooth surfaces and transparent walls complement rougher materials, from the scrap wood remnants to the 1927 concrete columns that were left exposed after excavation. Labs, classrooms, and public areas feature semi-exposed ceilings, while offices’ ceilings are enclosed. Floor finishes range from bold carpets in study, learning, and collaboration areas to polished and sealed concrete in labs, and public circulation areas. Wood surfaces and the live wall also serve to underscore the building’s connection to nature, while bold colors are used to signal shifts from area to area and to call attention to collaboration and study spaces.
Taking it outside
Open to community
The sense of often-boundless flow that weaves throughout the renovated and expanded Barnes Hall continues to the exterior. Large windows allow building occupants to continually connect with outdoor views and sunlight, with some areas of the building seeming to be virtually transparent. On the ground floor, massive doors work with windows and floor treatments to draw building users outside, where they find tables and chairs in a collaboration space that virtually flows in and out of the building.
Barnes Hall sits on the main quad of the Franklin College campus and between the academic campus, residence areas and a pair of heavily used parking lots. As such, it often serves as a gateway to the campus for students, faculty, staff, and the community.
The exterior of the existing building was altered slightly to remove unnecessary ornamentation, and new portions use brick, glass, and steel to offer a contemporary complement to the original structure’s brick and horizontal lines. Exterior learning spaces serve as outdoor classrooms, where native plants, Indiana limestone and other features invite students to learn about the area’s natural resources.
To embrace this role, BSA’s designers studied campus traffic and walkway patterns and created landscaping and building features that attract people to Barnes Hall. Native plantings make the space attractive in all seasons, with colors and textures changing throughout the year. The outdoor patio area welcomes passers-by to stop and sit for a while, and interior spaces were designed to be easily accessible by people from throughout the campus and community. Larger meeting spaces are available for community functions, furthering the idea that science is no longer a secretive and excusive discipline but that it is, instead, an open process that encourages all inquisitive parties to engage.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
C L I EN T
Franklin College LO C AT I O N
Franklin, Indiana SI ZE
28,000 square feet (renovated) 22,000 square feet (new) CO ST
$14.5 Million DAT E CO MP L ET ED
January 2019 KEY F EAT U RES
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
• 40% increase in labs • Dedicated student research labs • Experiential-learning spaces • 80-seat collaboratorium SERV I C ES
Architecture Engineering Interior Design CIvil Engineering Landscape Architecture Construction Administration AWA RD S
Higher Education Remodel IDEA Awards – IIDA Indiana Chapter P H OTO GRA P H ER
Frederick | Julius Photography THIRD FLOOR PLAN TEACHING LAB CLASSROOM COLLABORATION SUPPORT OFFICE GREEN HOUSE BUILDING SUPPORT
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BSA LifeStructures is an integrated design firm creating inspired solutions that improve lives through architecture, engineering, interior design, and planning services. With national expertise and regional leadership, BSA designs LifeStructures – innovative and inviting spaces that not only house the activities of healing, learning, and discovery but actually contribute to them – in order to make a difference for our clients and communities. As such, a LifeStructure is purposeful, a LifeStructure inspires, a LifeStructure delights and a LifeStructure improves lives.
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