The original building, the College’s first campus building in 1914, is a four-story Collegiate Gothic style building featuring a granite exterior. As the teaching labs and research labs had fallen into disrepair, the new addition and renovation provided an extraordinary opportunity to revitalize the historical features of the building, such as clerestory windows and open ceilings, while creating a modern science building.
Initially envisioned by the College as a new 51,000 GSF building located between the library and the Student Center, the architect determined an addition/renovation would meet the needs of the College’s science programming while maintaining the existing historic building. The new construction contains large teaching labs and classrooms, collaboration spaces, an elevator and new energy-efficient mechanical infrastructure serving the renovated spaces. The proportions and form of the addition respectfully emulates the existing historic building, whereas the exterior materials reflect a distinctly forward-looking spirit. The glazed connector, known as the “link,” between the existing granite building and the terracotta portion of the addition accommodates a key path on campus, allowing non-science majors to pass through the building and interact with the science programs at the heart of the campus.
At the north end of the green and near the existing building, a geothermal system was installed with 44 wells 500 feet deep to temper the building’s interior environment. The consistently 50˚F ground temperature was harnessed with the geothermal system to meet the building’s heating and cooling needs. By using the ground as a heat sink in the summer and a heat source in the winter, the project minimizes the loads on the system and dramatically reduces the building’s energy usage.
View Original