The building is comprised of two elements?a lab block and an office block. The lab block is designed in cast-in-place concrete with large scale elements responding to the existing buildings. The office block is designed in metal panels with operable windows and a ground floor arcade, adding scale and detail to the quad presence. This arrangement responds to the architectural issues relative to massing, scale and integration with neighboring buildings, and groups together programmatic functions that require similar engineering systems. By separating the laboratory and office components, offices are heated with hot water and cooled by operable windows, requiring far less energy demands while allowing the laboratory wing to maintain pressure differentials.

This organization contributes to the clarity of the building plan. High traffic areas, such as the general classrooms and introductory laboratories, are located at the quad level for ease of student access. Departmental and faculty offices, research and upper division teaching laboratories are located on the third and fourth levels to provide security and privacy.

Respecting existing pedestrian patterns, the organization of the building allows access at three points--directly off the science quad and at each end of the laboratory wing. It is also linked to the adjacent Chemistry Building at the top level by an enclosed pedestrian bridge, which facilitates sharing of common research activities between the two disciplines.