'Soft' Features Promote Collaboration and Make Science More Visible
Colleges and universities intent on promoting student interest in the sciences realize what a large role facilities can play. They have also found that it may take more than acclaimed or rigorous programs housed in state-of-the-art buildings to get attention on campus. At least part of the answer lies in the "soft" side of facilities—comfortable spaces that accommodate different stages of interdisciplinary collaboration, inviting features that open up the building's inner workings to the broader population. Nothing says "welcome" more than an expansive, ground-floor view into a prototype robotic operating room.