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The Kowa program included open research lab space with adjacent 4-ft-long work stations, a tissue culture space, an animal procedure room, a histology lab, a freezer room, and a glass washing facility. Offices, break and conference space are also included. Plan: Tsoi/Kobus
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Tsoi/Kobus & Associates (TK&A), Boston, recently completed the Center for Life Science | Boston (CLSB), a first-of-its-kind 777,600-ft2 speculative, privately-owned, multi-tenant research building. The LEED Gold-certified CLSB houses some of the Longwood Medical Area’s (LMA) most prestigious institutions, including the first U.S. research location for one of Japan’s oldest and largest privately owned companies: the Kowa Science Institute.
Over the years, Kowa’s research focus has related to “lifestye diseases,” such as diabetes, arteriosclerosis and kidney disorders. The selection of the LMA was strategic to Kowa’s mission of being amongst the prestigious institutions and researchers that occupy space in the CLSB, including the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Children’s Hospital Boston, and the Immune Disease Institute.
The new 24,500-ft2 Kowa facility is located on the 17th floor of this 18-story building, in a space that facilitates a collaborative partnership between Kowa and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). Together, the two institutions have formed the Center for Interdisciplinary Cardiovascular Sciences.
This client shared many of the priorities of modern research-oriented organizations, but also brought some unique requests to the table. The finished project reflects these objectives.
The process, the program
The fit-out of the 17th floor began with an eight-week programming effort, requiring input from research representatives from Nagoya, Japan, as well as Boston-based researchers representing Kowa and BWH. The project schedule was challenging and firmly tied to lease agreements, with a four-month design and documentation phase, and construction completion accomplished in
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Client protocols dictated upgrades in the tissue culture space (normally a BSL-2 space in the U.S.) to a BSL-2+ level. Photos: Jeffrey Totaro
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five months. This schedule demanded clear and concise communication and a collaborative and experienced team.
Communication with the Japanese contingent involved a number of representatives who would make intermittent trips to Boston to represent their various fields of interest, from financial to management. The cultural norms of the client presented several interesting situations, see header "Special cultural aspects of the fit-out project" for further information.
The Kowa program included open research lab space with adjacent 4-ft-long work stations to accommodate some 48 people with 6 linear ft of bench space per investigator; a total of six fume hoods and non-ducted biosafety cabinets was designated for the tissue culture space. Other support rooms included an animal procedure room, histology lab, freezer room, and a glass washing facility.
This program was similar to that of a number of biomedical research facilities, with the exception that this organization was accustomed to a higher level of biosafety related to their tissue culture work. Standard biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) is typical in the U.S., but the Kowa tissue culture area included an anteroom and non-porous surfaces, thereby meeting more stringent requirements associated with BSL-2+ spaces.
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Warm-toned wood helps warm the brightly daylit area of the large open lab.
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To refine the development of the laboratories, the key research representatives were asked to consider what density and distribution of lab gas services and lab sinks would be required, with the intent to limit these services to strategic locations. It was agreed that not all bench ends required sinks, and a few distributed sink locations would suffice. Lab gas services (vacuum only) would be required at fume hoods, and a total of four vacuum outlets were located at the bench umbilical, distributing one outlet per three benches (12 peninsula benches total) and four lab bench end sinks.
The administrative area provides office space for 10 to 15 people including the lab manager, as well as a waiting/lounge area, a break room, and conference space for 8 to 10 that provides teleconferencing capabilities. A Permasteelisa curved glass wall system provides the front wall that forms 10 private offices, which are aligned at the floor-to-ceiling window wall. This choice provides views and channels natural light deep into the floor plate, thus requiring less artificial lighting, benefiting the administrative, lounge and break areas.
The lounge area incorporates comfortable seating with LED backlit walls consisting of recyclable resin. The countertop material for the break area is made of Alkemi: a recycled surface material made from fine-flaked aluminum milling scraps. A large conference/seminar room for 50 people, positioned just off the elevators and entry to the suite, which includes an adjacent serving area, allows for multi-purpose functioning of this highly utilized space.
The finished product
TK&A provided full services that included interior design and furniture selection, and wherever possible, sustainable products were specified. Nagoya, Boston Kowa, and BWH representatives all participated in the decisions regarding interior finishes and
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The client’s selection of a full-height glazed wall system for offices brings daylight deeper into the facility.
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furnishings. While there seemed to be agreement on the initial direction of the color scheme, it later became clear that there were differences in the clients’ concept of the term “neutral” and the architect’s image. Though we would typically incorporate the use of color/accent walls within the open lab area, we were directed to eliminate accent walls, with all lab walls to be painted white, and to provide non-patterned flooring, resulting in a more “pharmaceutical” lab appearance.
With the final direction/selections provided by the CEO of Kowa, the color theme is based on the red Kowa logo and the blue BWH logo (shield), with white, black and gray accents that result in a clean, crisp, modern environment. The floor of the entry/reception area consists of black porcelain tile with small red glass inserts randomly incorporated to provide interest. The offices, administrative spaces, and conference rooms are carpeted with tile that contains a 42.5% pre-consumed, recycled material that meets CRI Green Label Plus and NSF 140 Platinum requirements. The strategic use of English sycamore wood paneling—in conjunction with maple doors and millwork and the use of colorful, environmentally sensitive, upholstered lounge furniture—enhances the warm and inviting atmosphere.
The completion of this facility marks the beginning of the research collaboration between Kowa and BWH with the goal of working together to advance medicine, and to speed discovery aimed at providing therapeutic solutions to today’s global cardiovascular health challenges. The inaugural visit by Kowa’s CEO to review the new facility was met with obvious approval and several lingering moments observing the panorama of the entire city of Boston.
Special cultural aspects of the fit-out project
Dealing with our Japan-based client was an instructive experience for our team. A somewhat unique concern brought forward
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White predominates in the color scheme, accented with gray, the warm tones of wood, and the red color of Kowa’s logo. The countertop material for the break area is made of Alkemi: a recycled surface material made from fine-flaked aluminum milling scraps. Photos: Jeffrey Totaro
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during design discussions was the height of the intermediate window system mullions. The mullion height was fixed at 42-in.-high. In the initial design for this tall building, the design team selected this arrangement to allow maximum flexibility of incorporating bench work, backsplash and wire raceway along the outside (spandrel glass) wall. However, with the diminutive height of the majority of the research group, the intermediate mullion presented an “uncomfortable” (but unavoidable) interrupted view to the exterior. Though not a deal breaker, this gave us food for thought for future projects.
In addition, the pegs of the pegboard/glassware rack system proved inaccessible to a number of researchers due to the positioning of the rack above the sink areas. Though the issue could have been addressed with a flexible casework system, it was determined during the early programming and design phases that this facility would not incorporate such a system. The client is now simply finding work-arounds for the arrangement.
Two traditional Japanese ceremonies were performed associated with the Kowa fit-out: one at the onset of construction (a “groundbreaking” Shinto blessing to assure a successful and safe process), and a second Shinto ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new facility at the completion of construction. An interesting aspect of the second ceremony was that no sign of human occupancy could be installed—no furniture, no computers or telephones, nothing that would allow for any work to go on. These “human” elements were incorporated after the completion of the blessing ceremony.
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Random bars of red glass invigorate the black porcelain tile pattern in the lobby area.
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Additionally, only weeks before the opening of this new space, the accommodation of a traditional Japanese shrine room was requested. The proper location would be at the west elevation of the building—taking some 50% of the space intended to house the mass spectrometry equipment.
The team worked cohesively to assure that this was completed for the already scheduled opening ceremony—an accomplishment that entailed some amount of demolition work, a new wall partition and new entry door, the compression of the mass spec components into a smaller area, the blocking up of the exterior window(s), and changes to the finishes. Since the building is fully glazed, the methodology of blocking up of the windows (a film product) had be reviewed and approved by the landlord, with the assurance that the day and night appearance from the exterior of the building remained unaffected.
Barbara Carpenter is an associate principal at Tsoi/Kobus & Associates in Cambridge, Mass. (www.tka-architects.com), with more than 30 years of diverse and comprehensive experience in research and medical projects. Key team members on the project included landlord BioMedRealty Trust Inc.; client project manager Leggat McCall Properties; MEP engineer AHA Consulting Engineers; structural engineer McNamara/Salvia Inc.; MEP commissioning authority Synergy Consultants; and construction manager Turner Construction Co.
Published in Laboratory Design newsletter: Vol. 15, No. 11, November, 2010
