© Jeff Goldberg/EstoThe building’s form expresses the primary programmatic functions. The resultant lab blocks are separated from a “ribbon” of office by a sky-lit atrium, which penetrates the building’s core. The atrium accommodates student pathways and provides a larger sense of community for the researchers on the secured floors above. The atrium also orients users within the building at all times.

Together, the large building program and the high floor-to-floor heights required for laboratories constituted a challenge relative to fitting the building into the smaller scale of the surrounding buildings. In Pre-Design the architects pursued planning options that used the entire site. They dealt with the phasing issues of the existing building, explored on-site parking and suggested the relocation of the parking across the street adjacent to the existing parking garage.

The planning options enabled UM to reconsider the phasing issue and parking locations to arrive at a better building and improved overall plan. These planning considerations allowed the BSRB to sit on a lawn, which ultimately made the overall massing fit well in the existing context.

The scale of the building was mitigated by the use of metal channels that divide the facades into smaller units, and, by the use of clerestory windows to allow light into the labs and create small-scale elements in the façade composition. The auditorium provides a sculptural set piece at this public entrance to the campus.

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