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The view of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory from across the harbor, with the Hillside
Campus topmost.
All photos: Jeff Goldberg, Esto.
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In its 120th year and home to seven Nobel laureates, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long
Island, home to more than 400 scientists and growing, is hardly resting on its laurels. The
institution that jumpstarted molecular biology—where, in 1953, James D. Watson presented his
first public lecture on his and Francis Crick’s discovery of the double-helical structure of
DNA—regularly makes headlines in scientific and even popular journals.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory conducts research and education into the fundamentals of
genetics, with a focus on cancer, neuroscience, genomics and bioinformatics, plant biology and
quantitative biology. Whether finding a way to reverse Alzheimer-like memory loss in fruit
flies or participating on a team of scientists who established that modern humans carry genes
from long extinct Neanderthals, CSHL is at the forefront of scientific endeavor.
A village for science
To augment and enhance its capabilities to conduct wide-ranging research, Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory recently expanded its scientific facilities by 40%. Designed by Centerbrook
Architects, Essex, Conn., which has done work at the campus since the 1970s, the new
100,000-ft2 Hillside Campus continues the aesthetic of a “Village for Science,” as
well as the concept of smaller, flexible and highly efficient laboratories. Offices are
smaller, too, which allows space for nearby common areas for people to congregate or hold
meetings (site plan image).
Overlooking Cold Spring Harbor, a quiet waterfront town not greatly changed from its 19th
century whaling heyday, the new Hillside Campus consists of six separate laboratory buildings
all connected above and below grade with sociable pathways, corridors, a glass-enclosed sky
bridge, plazas and a central cafe. The seemingly casual and residential-like nature of the
campus has been carefully nurtured to provide the scientists with “houses of science” to call
home, to shut the door and contemplate in comfort. (For a listing of all labs and their
individual focuses, see Hillside Campus laboratories serce diverse needs header).
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The small-scale, diverse structures of the Hillside Campus provide a comfortable
home for the world-class investigators working there.
Plan: Centerbrook Architects
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At the same time, each building is well connected with its neighbors and to a bucolic
landscape that is well-preserved, even cherished. For example, 700 trees were planted as part
of the Hillside project, and the CSHL buildings are clustered together and take full advantage
of subterranean space to keep footprints at a minimum and to preserve open space. The ends of
the buildings face the harbor to lessen the appearance of their mass to viewers across the
water. The small collegial labs are all above ground and connect with nature through views down
to the harbor, as well as via intimate porches, terraces, courtyards and enclaves.
The village ethos also provides the scientists with an opportunity to get away from their
work, to go for a walk down tree-lined paths, to bird watch, to socialize and
cross-pollinate–even to compare notes while tipping a few in the campus pub.
“What makes Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory unique is that we have a very high density of
really outstanding scientists,” says CSHL president Bruce Stillman. “It’s one of the most
productive per capita places in the world. There are many reasons for that, including the
campus layout and the architecture. Our separate, smaller buildings, where you have to walk
from one to the other, would not seem, at first blush, to be conducive to interactions. But
they are, because we treat the whole campus as one research enterprise, like a New England town
square. People do run into each other walking about, passing in courtyards, enjoying the
scenery or the views, having lunch. A lot of productive discussions about science happen
outside the labs.”
The new buildings do not look new or even like laboratories. In the village spirit, the
structures are deliberately designed to be distinct from one another in orientation, detailing
and color, to mesh nicely with their eclectic, free-ranging inhabitants. The goal at Hillside
was to create a special, diverse place without calling earlier constructs into doubt. Like
scientific advancement, the subtle message is that progress builds on what came before.
This non-scientific and non-institutional outward aesthetic is appreciated off campus as
well by the institution’s neighbors in this residential commuter town. The campus is listed on
the National Historic Register.
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An elevated walkway connects two neuroscience laboratories.
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Laboratory as destination
While it’s not obvious, even from close up, what goes on at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the
campus is renowned throughout the scientific world not only as a premier research institution,
but as a great place to visit. Some 8,000 scientists and visitors travel from every continent
to the campus annually for conferences, symposia and workshops. In 1998, CSHL established the
Watson School of Biological Sciences, whose unique PhD.-granting program trains the next
generation of molecular biologists.
The institution also runs the nation’s first science center dedicated to public genetics
education, where since 1988 more than 325,000 middle and high school students, teachers and
families have benefited from the hands-on educational programs of the Dolan DNA Learning
Center. In addition to the inhabitants of CSHL and its neighbors, these pilgrims represent a
third audience for whom the look, feel and even the smell of the campus is an important
consideration.
Part of the Hillside project entailed providing infrastructure for possible future expansion
at CSHL, including a bridge for a campus road. A central plant for chillers to air-condition
all of the buildings on the 110-acre main campus was erected in a remote location down by the
harbor to resemble a traditional barn. Besides keeping infrastructure from being unsightly, the
remote location also removed noise and vibrations from the laboratory setting.
While the six Hillside buildings share a below-grade central heating system, there are,
however, some disadvantages to the independent small laboratory approach, such as the need for
separate stairways and elevators in each structure. Overall, however, the separate and equal
approach made sense, particularly because each laboratory is devoted to a specific and distinct
scientific discipline.
Three decades of design
The development of Hillside Campus benefitted from the more than 30 years that Centerbrook
Architects has spent designing laboratories at Cold Spring Harbor and elsewhere, as well as the
careful attention that CSHL leadership has consistently paid to architectural matters over the
decades. Under Stillman and former director James Watson, now chancellor emeritus, both
architectural ambiance and functionality were top priorities. Winsome, coherent and commonsense
design was not peripheral to the institution’s mission; it was an integral part of what has
made Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory thrive.
Watson drew a parallel between inventive science and distinctive, uplifting architecture.
“My father believed that being bored was a good thing because when you’re bored you often come
up with ingenious ways to not be bored,” says the man who was often so uninspired by the next
predictable step in science that he tended to take ambitious leaps He adds, “You naturally want
to go beyond being bored and do something interesting and creative. So if you’re not bored, but
are excited by an ordinary building, you’ll never produce a good one.”
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An aerial view of the Hillside Campus, in the foreground, as well as some older
portions of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
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With a fully engaged client and a history of CSHL work, Centerbrook approached the Hillside
project with useful inside information. Sturdy brick walls at the base protect main building
walls from the ravages of snow removal and other operating hazards. Wind tunnel testing ensured
that exhaust air from various labs would not be re-entrained to other buildings or put
pedestrians at risk. Individual fan coil units in each building localized the control of indoor
air quality and temperature; operable windows, where feasible, help as well.
Localized building services will facilitate any future changes in individual structures,
which can be renovated without affecting their neighbors. Concrete superstructure and CMU in
the fill walls promoted stiff buildings for sensitive research equipment.
“The Hillside Campus build-out required a great deal of collaboration and teamwork between
the architects, engineers, contractors, and the leadership here, along with our facilities
staff, to get it done right, and to keep the project moving forward on budget and on schedule,”
said Art Brings, CSHL facilities manager. “In addition to the demanding requirements of
designing laboratories for various disciplines, the site is challenging, and the final result
needed to mesh with the existing campus practically and aesthetically while passing muster with
our neighbors.”
A sustainable campus
From erosion and sediment control and storm water management outside, to sensor control for
lighting and water use inside, Hillside was designed with energy-efficiency and sustainability
in the forefront. The storm water management system captures runoff in a series of
bio-retention ponds and filtration gardens that purify the water before it is recaptured in the
aquifer or discharged into the harbor. This system has a capacity of 254,000 gal, and was
awarded the 2007 Project of the Year by the Nassau County Society of Professional
Engineers.
All organic material from the site was retained for reuse. Trees were chipped and mulched
for site restoration, and the topsoil that was scraped away from the building site was retained
and reapplied during site restoration. Approximately 200,000 yd3 of excess earth was
required to be removed from the site. A sand mining operation was set up on site, screening out
rock, gravel, fine sand and other high-quality construction material before being removed from
site. Subsequent sale of the construction material reduced the cost of excavation from $4
million to $2 million.
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Scientists meet in a common room at the center of a cluster of offices.
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The six buildings are 30% more efficient than a typical laboratory built to standards set
for laboratories by ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning
Engineers). A highly insulated building envelope was combined with limited but judicious
deployment of glass. The latter strategy not only saves energy but also maximizes wall space
and reduces maintenance costs. At the same time, the narrowness of the buildings is conducive
to the harvesting of natural light. Setting the buildings below grade into the hillside also
reduced heating and cooling requirements. Night sky pollution is kept to a minimum by using low
intensity, down-lighting-only fixtures that provide full cut-off.
The $100 million Hillside project was the largest ever undertaken by Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory. The hard work paid off, according to Stillman: “I can tell you right now that I
doubt that there are any faculty on the planet, let alone in the United States that have
offices as good as ours at the Hillside Campus. I mean the offices are phenomenal–they are
simply beautiful.”
James D. Watson was similarly enthusiastic at the project dedication, saying, “These
buildings remind me that Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory continues to be the most beautiful place
in the world to do science.”
Hillside Campus laboratories serve diverse needs
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A stairway bisects the laboratory buildings of Hillside Campus, leading up to a
central courtyard.
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Each of the six laboratories that make up Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s new Hillside Campus
has a distinct research mission. The science overall will focus on cancer, neurobiology, human
genetics and quantitative biology, expanding upon the existing research programs on the main
campus and at the Woodbury Genome Center.
- The David H. Koch Laboratory is home to CSHL’s new Center for Quantitative
Biology, where an interdisciplinary team of mathematicians, physicists, statisticians, and
computer scientists develop analytical approaches to interpret and understand large and complex
data sets generated from experimental models as well as patient studies.
- The Nancy and Frederick DeMatteis Laboratory houses research aimed at uncovering
the genetic basis of diseases such as cancer, autism, schizophrenia, depression and other
cognitive disorders. The goal is to develop technologies that can help to mine the human genome
and discover linkages between genes and biological illnesses. CSHL scientists pioneered the
technique of comparing the genome of a tumor to the normal DNA of a patient, and in another
effort discovered rare gene copy number variations within the human population that are
associated with autism and schizophrenia.
- The William L. and Marjorie A. Matheson Laboratory is dedicated to research geared
to understanding the biology of cancer, with a particular focus on the exploration of the
microenvironment within which tumors grow and the mechanics by which they spread, or
metastasize. Researchers seek to understand the relationship between cancer cells and their
host tissues by studying this interaction in real time using cutting-edge imaging techniques
and experimental models that mimic human cancer.
- The Leslie and Jean Quick Laboratory houses researchers who link the genetic
basis of cancer with therapeutic outcomes, with the goal of developing approaches to discover
and test new therapeutic targets and strategies to combat the disease. Using technologies such
as RNA interference developed at CSHL, along with clinical expertise in analyzing human cancer
tissues, scientists have designed and are refining an approach that greatly speeds up the
discovery of all the genes that cause various types of cancer.
- The Wendt Family Laboratory is designed for the investigation of neurodevelopment
and the wiring of complex circuits in the brain. Utilizing technologies that enable observation
of the functioning brain in living animals, down to the level of individual neurons, CSHL
neuroscientists seek to understand memory and the basic cognitive processes in model
organisms.
- The Donald Everett Axinn Laboratory houses teams of researchers studying the
neurobiological roots of mental illness, seeking answers to questions like: How do gene
mutations perturb brain biology, contributing to an emergent behavioral pathology? It is
anticipated that this work will make possible reliable diagnostics for mental illness, as well
as indicate novel paths to more effective treatments.
James C. Childress, FAIA, is a partner in Centerbrook Architects, Essex, Conn.
(www.centerbrook.com/) Centerbrook, a recipient of the Firm Award from the American Institute
of Architects, has been the architect for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for 38 years.
Published in Laboratory Design newsletter: Vol. 15, No. 8, August, 2010, pp.
1-6, 18.
