With more classrooms and lab space to ease overcrowding, a high-tech lecture hall, and temperature-regulated storage for sensitive equipment the once-vintage building is now 100 percent ready to meet the teaching needs of modern science. The addition includes brand new mechanical, electrical, telecommunication, and life-safety infrastructure to allow for more efficient teaching rooms and labs. Since modern labs require more air changes per hour than do other portions of the building, as well as quality air and precise temperature regulation, the addition’s 32 biology and chemistry labs have an increased floor-to-floor height to provide the necessary ventilation and an up-to-date HVAC system.

The old building lacked adequate research facilities and had outgrown its uses, making a new approach and design essential. The existing structure was given new life with the conversion of outdated, oversized lecture halls into smaller classrooms to facilitate hands-on learning and student research. The Science Center is home to more than 50 faculty members and numerous research facilities dedicated to studies in biology, chemistry, environmental studies, computer science, geography, geology, physics, and science education, and lab spaces are now appropriate to these various research interests.

The award-winning Science Center has been cited as a good example of how creative renovation and new construction can help colleges meet the needs of a changing academic landscape while providing energy-saving facilities. The energy required to heat and cool make-up air for lab fume hoods accounts for a large portion of laboratory HVAC energy costs. To maximize energy efficiency without added expense, plans included the use of low-flow fume hoods tied to an enthalpy heat recovery system, passive solar sun shades with glass on the south façade of the addition, a new insulated roof, and new exterior wall insulation on the existing building.

As well as offering cross-disciplinary exchange alcoves within the glass addition, the Science Center enhances the students’ learning experience with an open-air courtyard that serves as an outdoor classroom with plants and boulders that reflect the biological and geological landscape of the region. Adding to the Center’s unique educational environment are an herbarium, a greenhouse, a geology collection space, and a map room.

The cutting-edge Science Center positions Keene State at the forefront of scientific research, poised to help train a new generation and meet the changing needs of future researchers.

Project Information
Building Owner:		Keene State College
Building Location:		Keene, New Hampshire UNITED STATES
Project Type:		New Construction,Expansion
Principal Building Function:		Research and teaching facility
Project Delivery Method:		Construction Management
Project Timeline		Apr 2003 Construction Start Aug 2004 Completion Last known status: Completed
Project Cost:		$23,000,000
Construction Cost:		$18,932,614
Cost Per Sq. Ft:		$202
		About These Cost Figures
Building Information
Project Includes:		Biology Chemistry Computers Ecology Education: Biology Education: Chemistry Education: Computer Lab Education: Lecture Or Seminar Hall Education: Physics Geology Laboratory: Teaching
Total GSF:		93,640
Project Team
Architect		Mitchell/Giurgola Architects
Builder		Gilbane Building Company
Profile Created 07/01/2006
Last Updated 11/16/2006
About the Reported Cost Figures The cost figures reported are supplied by the firms that submitted these projects for publication, which in most cases are the designers or builders. Whereas these sources are intimately familiar with their projects, they may not be fully aware of the owners' finally-realized and recorded costs. In some cases, costs are truly and completely accounted for, and in others they represent a near approximation of the final costs. Costs have not been adjusted for year of construction, nor has any attempt been made to make regional cost adjustments. Further, costs are not comparable on any kind of detailed standard costing model. Hence, it is possible for the cost of one building to include a steam boiler, while the cost of a comparable building might not include the boiler, if steam is being supplied from an already existing campus grid. Or, in another case, a building might include excess boiler capacity to supply steam to another building. Some submittals include fees or unusual site improvements as part of the construction costs, which others do not.