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Features of the New Science Center
Click on a floor, below, to see detailed descriptions of the features on each floor.
The new building will house the Departments of Chemistry and Biology in addition to the Environmental Science and Science Education Programs. Prominent features of the building include:
- 120-seat state-of-the-art Lecture hall which will accommodate both traditional and group learning classroom activities.
- Two “smart” classrooms suitable for all teaching styles which will have windows looking out at the science courtyard.
- An Atrium featuring a café, science displays and seating.
- The Student Reading Room on the first floor will look onto the garden and playing field. This will be connected to the Atrium with glass doors so that there is a corridor of glass and light through the building
- The "Aerie" meeting room sits adjacent to the Atrium on the second floor with a glass wall providing light and views down into the Atrium.
- The Science Balcony will open up from the Aerie and will be a key architectural feature of the building with its vaulted roof and views into the Science Courtyard and Science Quad.
- There are Conference Rooms (named) on the 2nd & 3rd Floors. The second floor conference room is adjacent to the connection to Houghton Hall and will look over the grove of trees on the east side of campus but will also have a view to the Science Courtyard through a glass wall to the windowed corridor. The third floor conference room overlooks the south garden and the rugby field.
- The faculty offices are paired and placed between teaching and research laboratories. There are informal teaching spaces in front of each office pair with a bench facing writing boards on the outside of the offices.
- The teaching laboratories on the first floor are for introductory chemistry, biology, environmental and science education courses. They have been selected for that floor to afford passers-by a view of science laboratory activities both from the corridors and the windows onto the science courtyard.
- Advanced biology, biochemistry and chemistry teaching laboratories are located on the second and third floors. These labs are often adjacent to instrument and prep rooms and have been designed to maximize collaboration and use of modern techniques and instrumentation. In addition, these laboratories will have smart teaching facilities to encourage the exchange of information in the laboratories and to increase the flexibility of the spaces so they can also be used for small seminars and group meetings.
- Research laboratories are spread throughout the building.
- The departmental offices and support staff will be centrally located in a suite on the second floor opposite the open stairway from the Atrium.
- The Science Courtyard will feature native plants and examples of local geologic features. There will also be benches and diagonal pavement that links the courtyard to the adjacent quad.
- The courtyard hallway will have floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the courtyard and bench seating between the support pillars.