The new Chemistry Research Building replaces an existing, but functionally obsolete wing of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department’s complex of buildings. In addition to obsolescence, the existing wing did not contribute architecturally to its precinct or align with the department’s aspiration for a forward-looking identity. The new six-floor,105,000SF replacement wing supports the department’s goal of advancing its mission to attract top talent while also creating an iconic entry to the chemistry precinct that integrates seamlessly with the existing complex. It accommodates flexible research laboratories, laboratory support, core facilities, meeting venues, offices, and collaboratoriums in a rigorously planned and open interdisciplinary environment.

The Chemistry Research Building was designed in parallel with nearby Stanley R. Zupnik Hall programmed for interdisciplinary engineering. Both were designed by the same architect and toward the same goal of fostering a cohesive planning strategy that creates a new Science and Engineering Innovation District. The Chemistry Research Building’s new public plaza and thermal plant will be completed with Zupnik Hall now under construction.

An intensive, client engagement and design process was anchored in a series of collaborative workshops strategically organized to introduce innovative ideas, foster extensive dialogue, and synthesize feedback into the design. The engagement process identified the following key design drivers:

Enhance the District: Create a prominent gateway to the chemistry complex through the creation of new public space that enhances and defines the innovation district.

Facilitate Connections: Create a visible “chemistry” passage that aligns internal and external campus flows with established campus pathways.

Foster Interdisciplinarity: Promote interdisciplinarity through use of abundant visual transparency and shared amenities that serve the innovation district.

Create an Enduring Research Environment: Incorporate a simplified, rigorous and flexible planning organization that facilitates the constantly evolving needs of an advanced research program.

Promote Wellness: Transform the typical research environment by providing ubiquitous and equitable access to daylight and exterior views.

Establish an Identity: Create an iconic identity for Chemistry that respects the university’s historic context and translates it into a contemporary architectural vocabulary.

Achieve Carbon Neutrality: Realize operational-carbon-neutrality for one of the University’s most energy intensive buildings without sacrificing research program performance.