Built around the idea of scientific collaboration and environmental, social, and economic sustainability, the Harvard Univ. Northwest Science Building will enhance cross-disciplinary research and energy savings.
The
Harvard Univ. Northwest Science Building, Cambridge, Mass., was designed to foster a connection between experts, scientists, and students from different scientific fields to conduct research. Not only does the Northwest Science Building emphasize cross-disciplinary research through its design, but it also provides a model that addresses environmental, social, and economic sustainability. And that is why the Northwest Science Building has been awarded the 2009
R&D Magazine Laboratory of the Year High Honors Award.
 The building's wings (north and west) are connected by the "Hub". The Hub stair links researchers and students on multiple levels, while drawing daylight into the building and providing campus views to the students passerby. Image by Timothy Hursley |
The science building was built on an under-utilized plot of land that consisted of surface parking and semi-industrial, post-war government research buildings. It is one of the largest projects
Harvard Univ. has embarked on in its recent history. This newly created space weaves between six existing buildings and allows for easy collaboration among the researchers. The building bridges together internal and external factors providing researchers within the labs with "green roofs" with skylights, and modern lab facilities. In addition, the South Quad provides the campus with a welcoming, landscaped atmosphere outdoor area, which fosters communication among the community and researchers.
"The building solution is a blend of interior and exterior forces coming together—the large program fits creatively into the site while anticipating contextual goals of the campus at every angle and elevation," says Steve Hackman, AIA, Lab of the Year judge and principal,
SmithGroup, Phoenix, Ariz.
This idea demonstrates the designer's (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP) focused understanding of the social fabric of the campus. The designers realized that all humanities buildings on the Harvard campus are freestanding structures, while the science buildings on campus are all inter-linked, a characteristic that can lead to the fostering of scientific research and collaboration nature. With a trend towards cross-disciplinary research between the sciences, the Northwest Science Building hosts experts, scientists, and students from diverse scientific fields such as neuroscience, bio-engineering, systems biology, and computational biology, among others. Not only does the new science building bring together the sciences for more complex scientific investigation and research, but it opens the door to the university receiving more government grant funding. With a laboratory for cross-disciplinary research, Harvard is now even more well-positioned to receive grants from the government and organizations, and it also gives the university the power to recruit more scientists who specialize in more than one field of science to help obtain these grants.
 The new Northwest Science Building serves, along with the existing Museum and Laboratory for Comparative Zoology, to define a new South Yard. The south entry is situated along an axis which links the building to the science facilities across Oxford Street. Image by Timothy Hursley |
According to Richard Johnson, Lab of the Year judge and product director, strategic marketing, corporate alliances,
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Two Rivers, Wis., the features that set this project apart from other similar projects are "the neighborhood/hub concept in lab planning: the incorporation of circulation path to the major spine leading to the various neighborhoods, and the landscaped south lawn."
To bring together the different sciences in the building, and following the basic DNA of the building, the design team avoided hard-wiring the labs, making the design more like a lab loft. This allows the university to reassign spaces and teams throughout the building without the static space configurations faced by most labs. The loft is supported by flexible MEP systems armature, which runs down the center of the building, leaving bench areas and support and office zones free of columns and vertical penetrations. Each science and discipline within the building was taken into consideration for the sizing of the MEP systems and vertical distribution. The building's organization allowed for the designers to separate the dry spaces for office and computation use on one mechanical system from the system used by the lab spaces. The building's flexible DNA makes the structure energy efficient, reducing life-cycle replacement and renovation costs. And, taking note of laboratory casework, Hackman added, "The laboratory casework should be noted for its clean lines and simple table-based approach to flexibility."
 The Lab Loft is supported by a flexible MEP systems armature – "the central nervous system." Designed to accommodate a wide range of research, it runs down the middle of the building, leaving the bench areas and support and office zones free of columns and vertical penetrations. Image by Timothy Hursley |
The design also incorporates informal living rooms that encourage communication among the occupants and promote the flow of energy within the building. These areas have soft seating, food service, operable windows, balconies, and ample room—all designed to promote interaction.
The South Quad functions as a communication ground with its landscape furniture positioned around skylights to provide outdoor meeting spaces, which can be accessed by anyone in or around the campus community.
While built for fostering collaboration and communication, the Northwest Science Building was primarily built with a focus on science and the researcher. Much of the building was placed underground to provide an ultra-low vibration space necessary for sensitive imaging equipment. This development also provides energy saving and material use reduction.
For the researchers in the lab, the designers incorporated three garden roofs with skylights for day lighting in the labs. The building has airy and day-lit stair spaces to facilitate easy passage throughout the building. The labs spaces contain large, open workspaces and more individual rooms.
The Harvard Northwest Science Building elevates the standard for future collegial/university science building and laboratories. This intricate building moves the idea of a collegial, collaborative environment forward, potentially allowing the university to attract more of the world's accomplished researchers and raise the standard for innovative scientific research.
