SCIENCE / RESEARCH
Think Tank Studio For decades, we have sustained our practice in a single office so that our clients and their projects can reap the full benefit of our collective intelligence. Practicing closely together in a single location over extended periods of time fosters a culture of collaborative inquiry, vigorous dialogue and synthesis of ideas. While much of this collaborative interaction is spontaneous, we have instituted a range of activities to maximize opportunities for cross pollination of ideas, ranging from firm-wide project presentations reviewed by a cross-section of the practice, to more intimate alcove critiques that hone in on particular design problems of a given project.
Research Lofts for Intense Habitation Our practice focuses on technologically and programmatically complex buildings with almost continuous activity. These are among the profession’s most intricate building types — often neglected and requiring a mastery of program and associated technological requirements. We believe that technological and programmatic competence is only the beginning point: careful design and beautiful craft must be brought to these buildings of intense habitation.
Flexible Framework Flexibility within the research lab manifests itself in many ways — from casework to programmatic adjacencies. We’ve developed entirely new casework systems to meet the unique demands of a particular research endeavor to novel laboratory concepts, such as the layered lab. This greatly improves the energy efficiency of lab buildings and opens up interaction within the lab environment. Given the complexity of the work occurring in these spaces, we know the importance of designing specifically for equipment, safety and security concerns. We utilize benchmarking studies, shadow studies and post-occupancy evaluations to continuously improve our designs. By capitalizing on our deep knowledge base, we are able to consistently question our assumptions and design high intensity spaces with care while also meeting our clients’ needs.
Idiosyncratic Cores As research needs become more specialized, core laboratories with intense equipment demands will become more specialized and idiosyncratic, freeing the typical laboratory area to be more flexible and environmentally progressive. Despite their specialization, these core laboratories can be strategically located to foster interaction among groups   or disciplines that would otherwise be compartmentalized. The core laboratories themselves can be the vehicle to promote interaction and effectively blur boundaries. This strategy creates opportunities that lead to a multi-faceted approach to scientific discovery.
Teaching the Next Generation Science instruction for higher education is transforming. We see a shift in focus from a single-source teaching modality to a more open, learning-centric environment. From designing 24/7 student workspace adjacent to the lab, to leveraging integrated computational equipment into the pedagogy, we custom-tailor our designs to our client’s specific goals for their institutions.
Social Activators The current buzzword in academic laboratory design is “interaction.” The high technology research of the present and the future is happening at the edges of traditional scientific disciplines. Though the culture of social interaction in laboratory design has been a longstanding focus of our firm’s commitment to planning the human workplace, this is just one type of social space that needs to be addressed. While some places must be designed for active engagement, it is equally important to create “alone / together” space, nooks where students can curl up with their laptops and live in the building. Other areas benefit from deeper levels of density, increasing the level of scientific inquiry and adjacency of fellow workers.
Dynamic, Engaging Teaching Spaces The classroom of tomorrow is radically challenging this typology. Classrooms are now active, project-centric work areas rather than merely places for lectures. Incorporating an ever-changing technological landscape, classrooms focus on the group more than the individual. We are at the forefront of developing some of the most advanced teaching and learning spaces in the country, ranging from large spaces for hundreds of students to small rooms of about a dozen students.
Science on Display Visibility is essential to the continuation of science. We believe it matters how the lab engages those passing through the building. These people are visitors, tourists, sightseers or casual passersby who are not actively engaged in the research, but are essential to the life of the building. Scientists will only exist to do the work if they are part of a society that considers it beneficial or even inspiring. Therefore, making the work visible and comprehensible is crucial.
Detail, Craft, Fabrication We are passionate about our craft. From the rigorous analysis that will guide the site planning phase, to an innovative detail in a lab bench, we bring passion, intensity and intelligence to the design process. To that end, we have established a fabrication space to expand our research and prototyping capacities. It is a flexible environment that can adapt to evolving design goals and project demands. Our fabrication capacities sponsor a feedback loop between design and construction processes, challenging architectural concepts with the rigors of physical production in an immediate and informative way. Rapid iteration of largescale mock-ups serve as both an internal design tool and a means of communicating complex design intent to clients and consultants. The use of these tools consistently results in humanistic buildings that enrich their context.
Revitalizing Aging Facilities One of the greatest challenges facing institutions today is the leveraging of the existing buildings that they already have. We believe that the age of a facility does not determine its potential, nor its ability to provide state-of-the-art research facilities for the next generation of research.
Commitment to the Environment Committing to the future of the environment means rigorously designing our buildings through the lens of sustainability. Building science is the data-driven investigation of building systems, materials, envelope and operational energy usage in order to optimize a building’s performance and minimize its environmental impact. As stewards of our clients’ resources, and with conviction in our responsibility to lead, we embrace the challenge of delivering the highest-performing buildings for our inherently demanding market sector. Take a look at how our academic science projects perform on average:
64%
average energy savings
42%
average water reduction
91%
average building area with access to daylight
Our practice specializes in technologyrich and energy-intensive buildings, which are typically the highest consumers of energy on an academic campus. These specialized environments are challenging to reduce their energy usage, but because of their substantial environmental impact, the imperative is that much greater. Take a look at the energy use intensity (EUI) in kBtu / sf / year of a sample of our projects and how they stack up against the national average of similar buildings in the same climate zone:
Amherst College, New Science Center
94 kBtu / SF 75% EUI reduction Northeastern University, Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex
103 kBtu / SF 75% EUI reduction National University of Ireland, Galway Biosciences Research Building
143 kBtu / SF 71% EUI reduction
Modeling for Optimization Parametric modeling allows us to nimbly evaluate and adjust the energy impact and life-cycle costs of multiple design options in tandem with design evolution. These models allow teams to quickly and iteratively inform and evolve the design. With these tools we can explore user experience, construction efficiency and quality, as well as environmental performance in regards to façades, daylight and natural ventilation. FAÇADE DEVELOPMENT STUDY
Program
Glazing Requirements
Incident Solar Radiation
Panelization Diagram
Elevations
Embedded Nature We believe the spaces around buildings are equally or even more important than the buildings themselves. Outdoor spaces are only successful to the extent that they draw activity and life from the surrounding buildings. We find opportunities to create moments of connection, contemplation, study and instruction at these intersections.
Where we stand: rankings and awards Building on its proud history, our firm continues to emphasize strong design. We produce architecture of consistently high quality and sophistication. We have become one of the nation’s most awardwinning architects for healthcare and high technology science and research buildings.
2015
Ranked 9th in Sustainability; 14th Overall by Architect Magazine The Architect 50 2015 Annual Ranking
2015
Ranked 4th in Science + Technology Sector Giants by Building Design & Construction 2015 Annual Ranking
152
AIA and National Design Awards
11
Excellence in Planning & Architecture Awards from SCUP / AIA-CAE
8
R+D Magazine Lab of the Year Awards
6
Awards for Sustainable Design and Green Practices
FEATURED PROJECTS 75-125 Binney Street / Alexandria Real Estate Equities Biosciences Research Building / National University of Ireland, Galway Center for Biotechnology & Life Sciences / University of Rhode Island Children’s Hospital / Penn State Hershey College of Pharmacy / University of Rhode Island Dana Mohler-Faria Science & Mathematics Center / Bridgewater State University Environment Hall: Nicholas School of the Environment / Duke University Fifth XiangYa Hospital / Central South University Frick Chemistry Laboratory / Princeton University Gary C. Comer Geochemistry Building / Columbia University Institute of Science and Technology / Skolkovo University Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex / Northeastern University Kimball Hall Renovation / Cornell University Merkert Chemistry Center, Laboratory Renovation / Boston College Milken Institute School of Public Health / George Washington University New London Hall Life Science Building / Connecticut College New Science Center / Amherst College Olin Hall Renovation / Cornell University Office Fit-Out and Conference Center Renovation / MEDITECH Pell Laboratory for Advanced Biological Studies / Pennsylvania State University Regents Hall Science Center / Georgetown University SEAS Data Science Institute / Columbia University Sherman Fairchild Renovation / Harvard University
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