Wesleyan University Constructs Science Building

Wesleyan University is constructing a $255 million science building to consolidate two existing facilities and anchor a transformational life sciences precinct in Middletown, Conn. Designed by Payette, the 195,000-gsf structure will house the departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.  The four-story development will feature 39 research and support labs, nine teaching labs, seven classrooms, and a vivarium. To promote collaboration and resource sharing, wet labs will be clustered in groups of four to five with interconnecting doors and a shared write-up area. Conference rooms will be accompanied by faculty and departmental offices, a greenhouse, and a café. Integrating informal meeting zones and study environments, a skylit atrium and commons will serve as the central locus by linking three volumes of spaces with interwoven staircases. 

Targeting LEED Gold certification, the highly sustainable building will advance Wesleyan’s carbon neutrality goals by incorporating an advanced HVAC system, energy recovery technologies, and heat pumps. A double-skin glass façade will improve year-round thermal efficiency, enhance sound insulation, and offer solar shading for glare control. The project also encompasses the renovation of 25,000 sf in Shanklin Laboratories, which will be subsequently repurposed as the new home for the College of the Environment and the College of Integrative Sciences.

FIP Construction broke ground on the facility in fall of 2022 and occupancy is expected in fall of 2026. The engineering team comprises Van Zelm Heywood & Shadford as MEP and Fire Protection Engineer, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger as structural engineer and envelope consultant, VHB as civil engineer, and Thornton Tomasetti as sustainability engineer. Studio NYL is acting as façade consultant and Code Red Consultants is providing code compliance services.