Archinect - News

KPF designs Columbia University's first purpose-built, all-electric research lab building

2024-04-10T18:28:00-04:00

Kohn Pedersen Fox has designed a new state-of-the-art research and academic facility that will deliver Columbia Universty’s first purpose-built, all-electric lab building for the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The project will augment Columbia’s Plan 2030 for achieving campus-wide net-zero emissions by 2050. It boasts a system of air source heat pumps (ASHPs) that manage the building’s temperature controls in unison with a high-performance facade that offers an optimized window-to-wall-ratio under 50%.

Credit: RGB, courtesy Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF)

“As an all-electric research lab building in a cold climate, the biomedical research building presented a particular challenge given high heating loads brought on by the ventilation requirements of the building’s program,” KPF’s Director and Head of Sustainability, Carlos Cerezo Davila, said in a project announcement. “This required us to design a building where the architecture and the mechanical systems work toge...

SGA designs concept for ‘New England’s first all-timber frame laboratory development’

2023-11-03T11:50:00-04:00

SGA has unveiled details of its proposed mass timber life sciences building, which seeks to demonstrate the potential of the construction method in future research buildings. Taking an urban site in one of Boston’s leading life sciences clusters as a test case, the team believes their concept offers “the true potential for the first mass timber research development in New England.”

Image credit: SGA

The test case sees two proposed buildings that create an “experiential research community” while being designed along three pillars of sustainability, resiliency, and construction efficiency. A nine-story building is centered on offering a flexible and efficient research environment, while the second four-story, hospitality-inspired facility delivers on-site amenities alongside an incubator space for start-up and early-stage research companies.

Image credit: SGA

The mass timber concept deploys industry-standard dimensions for laboratory bay spacing, meets the requirements for structural an...

Inside three upgraded Columbia University science labs by Shakespeare, Gordon, Vlado: Architects

2023-07-24T11:52:00-04:00

Shakespeare, Gordon, Vlado: Architects (SGVA) has completed a series of research laboratories for Columbia University. Initiated in 2018, the project aimed to “modernize and repurpose” Columbia’s existing facilities to accommodate the expanding needs of the university's biological sciences, chemistry, and physics departments.

Physics Lab. Photo credit: Alexander Severin

The three projects centered on a chemistry lab at Havemeyer Hall, a biochemistry lab at Fairchild Center, and a physics lab at Pupin Hall. Each laboratory project involved the complete renovation of the existing spaces along with “innovative design concepts to facilitate the new and future goals for scientists and their teams in advancing their research.”

Chemistry Lab. Photo credit: Alexander Severin

Havemeyer Hall's chemistry lab was transformed into a state-of-the-art 2,800 square-foot research facility, outfitted with a Biosaf...

Michael Green Architecture, Oregon State University debut mass timber innovation lab

2019-10-14T19:55:00-04:00

Oregon State University (OSU) has opened a new 17,500-square-foot research and fabrication lab designed by Michael Green Architecture (MGA) dedicated to mass timber design, engineering, fabrication, and construction.

The A.A. "Red" Emmerson Advanced Wood Products Laboratory, as the space is known, brings together university and industry partners that include OSU's colleges of forestry and engineering and the University of Oregon's College of Design to create the TallWood Institute. The lab is the cornerstone of a new Oregon Forest Science complex on OSU's Corvallis campus, also designed by MGA. The interdisciplinary partnership, according to OSU's website, will focus on the "advancement of structural wood products and mass timber design in constructing high-rise and other multistory buildings."

Exterior view of the A.A. "red" Emmerson Advanced Wood Products Lab. Image courtesy of TallWood Institute.

In a press release announcing the opening of the complex, TallWood Design Institute ...

R&D facilities begin to see shift in design approach

2019-07-30T20:09:00-04:00

The focus on innovation and an increasing war for talent is causing a significant shift in the design of R&D facilities. Attracting the best talent requires expression of purpose both in the culture and the physical workplace. In the highly competitive research landscape centered around New Jersey, biopharmaceutical companies are aligning these values by moving the laboratory front and center, and putting their science on display.

Laboratory scientists are now moving from "back-of-house areas" to more visible zones where the intricacies of lab work can be better appreciated and embraced by building users. This presents "a whole new set of design opportunities and challenges," writes Gensler Sciences Leader, Brenda Nyce-Taylor.

The firm has recently completed an exciting science co-working space in collaboration with Princeton University and Biolabs that "supports entrepreneurial start-up scientists" by "putting innovation at the center with labs visible upon entry." It will be interesting to see how this new shift in design trend will impact the R&D industry in the coming years.

KAAN Architecten completes a new base for the Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay in France

2018-09-12T15:16:00-04:00

The new Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay (ISMO) was recently completed by Dutch firm KAAN Architecten. The institute moved into their new building as part of the Université Paris-Saclay's future campus in Orsay, France.

Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay (ISMO) by KAAN Architecten, located in Orsay, FR. © Fernando-Guerra

Located about 12 miles outside of Paris in Plateau de Saclay, the science institute is a grouping of physics laboratories, an educational building, housing, offices, and a reception center for international researchers.

Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay (ISMO) by KAAN Architecten, located in Orsay, FR. © Fernando-Guerra

Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay (ISMO) by KAAN Architecten, located in Orsay, FR. © Sebastian-van-Damme

The firm's design is centered around an urban-meets-rural idea with a concrete rectangle amidst the for...

Morphosis announces opening of new flagship location for Kolon Group in Seoul

2018-08-28T16:12:00-04:00

Morphosis recently announced the opening of a new flagship research and design facility for The Kolon Group, a leading manufacturing company based in South Korea. The 820,000-square-foot facility is located in Magok, an emerging tech hub in Seoul.

Kolon Group facility by Morphosis, located in Seoul. Image: Jasmine Park, courtesy of Morphosis.

The design for the new facility features flexible laboratory facilities, administrative offices, and active social spaces to encourage interaction and exchange across the company departments.

Kolon Group facility by Morphosis, located in Seoul. Image: Jasmine Park, courtesy of Morphosis.

The façade consists of interconnected sunshades made from fiber reinforced polymer using one of The Kolon Group's own high-tech fabrics, Aramid, to increase the material’...

Renovation of Kahn's Richards Labs pleases both scientists and architects

2016-01-12T13:05:00-05:00

The renovation has pared Kahn's spaces down to their essence, restoring a Zenlike calm, and revealing the muscular concrete structure that made the design such a revelation in the early 1960s, when International Style glass towers were all the rage. As Kahn, who was known for his mystical pronouncements, might say, Richards has become the building it always wanted to be.

The renovation was led by Penn's university architect, David Hollenberg, who oversaw a host of architects working on the complex's four towers, including: EYP, Urban Engineers, Keast & Hood, Bruce Brooks & Assoc., and Atkin Olshin Schade. Hollenberg also suggested Penn nominate the building for National Historic Landmark Status, which it achieved in 2009, complicating the renovation significantly.

HOK Team Selected to Design New Global Hub for Biomedical Research in Italy

2012-11-29T11:48:00-05:00

HOK has been selected as lead architect for the Ri.MED Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center (BRBC) near Palermo, Sicily, in Southern Italy. HOK’s team was selected from a field of 14 entrants in an international design competition.

Plans for the 334,000-square-foot (31,000-square-meter) facility were unveiled on Nov. 27 in Palermo, Sicily, in an event attended by Italian political leaders including Prime Minister Mario Monti and Rosario Crocetta, president of the Region of Sicily. Leaders from UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), the University of Pittsburgh, the Ri.MED Foundation and HOK also attended the event.

The $269 million (210 million-euro), world-class research facility will be a global hub for biomedical research and development. Managed by UPMC, the facility’s focus on translational science will move research quickly from the lab to the marketplace. The ultimate goal is to prevent or cure diseases while improving the quality of life and life...

Nanjing Lab by Yaohua Wang Architecture

2011-11-23T15:17:08-05:00

Yaohua Wang, of Los Angeles firm Yaohua Wang Architecture, has sent us visualizations of proposed Nanjing Lab, a vegetation laboratory in Nanjing, China. The project was comissioned by the Nanjing Xiaguan district goverment and is currently within the schematic design phase.