Faced with an aging science center, the client sought a new, forward-looking building that would create an open learning environment for the entire campus community. Anchoring the eastern edge of the campus and set against the Pelham Hills beyond, the New Science Center is a collection of five distinct building components nestled into the new Campus Greenway. The component include two high energy laboratory wings to the east and three pavilions of low intensity uses extending west toward the hilltop academic core.

Clearly articulated, minimally expressed natural materials permeate the project, nesting a contemporary building into the more traditional legacy of this rural campus. From handmade gray bricks recalling local stone walls to the custom weathering steel screens complementing the tones of nearby red brick structures, the project embraces craft and detailing as the natural tie to its context.

The design team engaged in over 200 design and programming meetings with College representatives in senior leadership roles, faculty, facilities operational staff and students. Students were engaged to ensure the design team received input from under-represented minority groups and first-generation students. Based on feedback, community spaces were created throughout the building to reinforce social and behavioral cues supporting scholarship and strengthening student-to-student and student-to-faculty relationships that are the hallmark of the College’s science education.