LOCATION: Greensboro, NC
PROJECT SIZE: 50,000 SQ FT
PROJECT COST: $20,200,000
The new science building is located between two existing science buildings and creates a courtyard (the science quad) defining one edge of the quadrangle immediately to the west of the main campus quad. This location, which fronts a public street across from the football stadium, allows the University to reinforce its commitment to Science and Technology to the community while creating a state-of-the-art facility.
This new facility includes teaching labs, classrooms and research space for the departments of Chemistry and Psychology. The building is organized in two wings, one that contains the more technical needs of the chemistry department and the other houses the shared classrooms and “office oriented” environment of the psychology department. The chemistry labs include general, organic and analytical teaching labs in addition to the research labs located on the top floor.
The general chemistry and analytical labs have been designed to be flexible and allow for multiple modes of teaching. The teaching labs are organized with exhaust hoods and lab gasses around the perimeter of the room allowing for movable tables in the center. These tables can be arranged over a grid of electrical boxes to allow for a classroom setting for 24 students or six working groups of four students each. A fixed teaching station is provided at the front of the room. The building also houses computer labs, an animal facility and core instrument labs.
The building’s exterior was designed to be contextual with the surrounding buildings and create a new entry portal for those entering the campus from the east. The brick and cast stone exterior reflects the Georgian Architecture of this portion of campus. The sloped roof provides screening for the rooftop air handling units with the intake louvers being incorporated with the stair tower on the east end of the building.
Photography: James West