“Having a strong visionary on the building team can make discussions go easier,” says Leslie Sims, senior associate with Boston-based architectural firm Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott. “The stronger the vision the easier it is to make decisions, especially the hard decisions about budget management.”

Whitaker Hall

Frank Yin, Ph.D., professor and chair of Washington University’s Biomedical Engineering department, had the opportunity to work with the institution’s vision of creating a combined research and teaching facility that was flexible, had a ‘wow’ factor, and enhanced interactions at every opportunity.

The result is the $42-million Uncas A. Whitaker Hall for Biomedical Engineering. The 55,000-sf building is the first in a group of new campus facilities that will emerge over the next decade.

“The end result speaks for itself,” he says. “Everybody who looks at the building or visits is effusive about what a nice building it is.”

As a science/research building, creating a state-of-the-art interior was top priority. At the same time, the building’s exterior had to fit with Washington’s campus-wide Gothic style. Furthermore, the team “had to make it flexible to accommodate a wide range of activities and a whole spectrum of research,” says Yin.

Not only that, the list of precisely who—and what—would be housed in the new building was up in the air (when the project started, only three faculty were on staff). This, Yin says, required an adaptable design with the ability to accommodate everything from traditional wet labs and protein synthesis labs to nanotechnology cleanrooms, microscopy, and dry labs.

The 15 research labs throughout the building are modular, with easily-adjustable interior walls and no fixed furniture. Countertops, for ease of maintenance, are white. For cost-saving purposes the labs do not feature central clean water or compressed air—it is far more affordable to install these items on an as-needed basis to individual labs, says Yin. Utility chases are at the ends, rather than the back, of islands. All these attributes allow for easy conversion from wet to dry lab, and vice versa, with some conversions having already been made.

Other research amenities include a six-room, 1,650-sf microscopy suite, a 1,320-sf imaging room, a 400-sf cleanroom, and a 3,750-sf vivarium, all in the basement, and additional support areas such as two autoclave/dishwasher rooms and five temperature-controlled rooms, all of which serve as shared spaces for researchers.

Because Yin puts precedence on the needs of students, Whitaker is also equipped with plenty of small, medium, and large classrooms, accommodating between 10 and 60 people, as well as smaller seminar and reading rooms. Teaching labs for computer, physiology, and biotechnology research occupy prime space in the building near the first floor entrances. Rather than being tucked away in individual labs, faculty offices are arranged in clusters near conference rooms, gathering spaces, and student labs.

Other highlights include an outdoor green space and the extensive use of natural lighting and light-colored wood within the building.

Overall, Yin says, administrators at Washington were accepting of plans to make Whitaker somewhat untraditional. A few were reluctant, however—especially regarding the plan for a three-story atrium right in the middle of the building.

“They thought it would decrease efficiency and they viewed it as a waste of space,” he says. “A tour of another site with a big atrium showed how that space could work. Having seen that really changed their minds.”

Now everybody loves the atrium, or what Yin refers to as the building’s “wow” space. The multi-level gathering space features dramatic artwork, quiet balconies, and a grand staircase with a landing that doubles as a stage. During business hours, the atrium primarily serves as a route to and from other parts of the building or as a place to take a quick break. It can be easily transformed for sit-down dinners, faculty get-togethers, even music recitals. Availability of the atrium for social events is open to all campus departments.

“It’s a great recruitment tool,” says Yin. “It worked out really well.”

Virginia Tech’s Life Sciences Building

With the intent of eventually becoming a top-30 research institution, Blacksburg, Va.-based Virginia Polyechnic Institute (VPI) developed a master plan for a 33-acre parcel next to campus—the initial step toward spearheading this vision. The overall project is still a work in progress, but the life sciences facility is well under way. Completion is about one year out.

“This building will showcase their enhanced research mission, so they want it to be a recruitment tool and to fulfill existing research needs,” says Sims.

Like Whitaker, the life sciences building is designed for unknown users. This means a flexible infrastructure is key. Equipped with a mechanical-engineering-plumbing system that can be altered to suit future needs, the $27.6-million building will feature nearly 13,000 sf of lab space, as well as plenty of office, conference, and support space.

“It’s as generic as it can be,” says Sims, explaining that it needs to accommodate the stringent requirements for infectious disease research and other sensitive areas of biology-based studies.

To support the infectious disease program, 10,823 nsf is traditional, closed wet lab space for six principal investigators. The building also features 1,800 nsf for BSL-3 labs.

In conjunction with the emphasis on safety and security, collaboration among the building’s occupants is a high priority aspect of the institution’s vision for the building. Even though the building is relatively small at 72,000 sf, a colloquium space is incorporated into the design which allows for the sharing of information and “cross pollination” of ideas. And the labs themselves are separated by vision glass instead of regular walls, encouraging collaboration even further.

As an added bonus, the building is serving as an example of sustainability to the campus community. With a green roof, a heat recovery system, and many other LEED features, administrators want to make sure they “use energy as judiciously as possible.”

Massey Cancer Center

Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond wanted more than just laboratory and classroom space in its new Massey Cancer Center building. With the ultimate goal of finding a cure for cancer, plans for the new building began with a vision for increased synergy among everyone involved, from researchers and patients to doctors, students, and faculty members. Deciding to include an additional 20,000 sf in the building, the University took advantage of doing so before the project was completed, thereby eliminating staff disruption and costly construction had the facility been expanded after the research center was up and running.

The product of this vision is an 80,000-gsf facility with space for co-mingling. The 3,000-sf outdoor healing garden, with room for conversation, relaxation, and reflection is just the beginning. The building’s stairwells are equipped with benches and breakout rooms, and to further enhance this synergy, the new building is adjacent to an existing outpatient facility. Nearly 85 percent occupied, the building also includes 15,660 nsf of wet lab space, 12,805 nsf of support space, 4,387 nsf for faculty offices, and 1,700 nsf for conference rooms.

While Massey is a single-focus building, designed specifically for cancer research, unlike the multidisciplinary research environment at Whitaker Hall and VPI life sciences building, flexibility is equally important in the design, says Sims, as researchers need the ability to adapt the space as science advances. An open lab environment, equipped with modular equipment and storage, guarantees this flexibility. Open labs are also a component of the original vision of the project, as they allow for more collaborative synergies among researchers and patients.

“The labs are standard, but also include a support core with small rooms that can be customized,” says Sims.

Because many scientists are not fully accustomed to open labs, a ghost corridor was also incorporated, functioning dually as a lab and a path through the building. With lower ceilings, distinct lighting and permanent sink units—the building’s only permanent amenities—this corridor creates a sense of separation from the open lab, allowing researchers to feel more “at home.”

Although the building was designated for cancer research and cancer researchers alone, at the time of construction it was not determined precisely who would occupy the facility. Although administrators at VCU were used to creating buildings for known, rather than unknown, users, says Sims, they embraced this cultural shift, which opened up exciting possibilities for their use of the space in the future.

For each of these three, unique institutions, flexibility was key to successfully addressing the creation of their leading-edge research facilities.

By Dawn Weinberger

We welcome your Questions and Comments

Copyright 2008 Tradeline Inc.
All Rights Reserved
ISSN: 1096-4894