Description

The new buildings located on Harvard University campus unify three existing institute buildings by completing the quadrangle of the Cabot Science Complex, thus finishing the urban plan. The new landscaping scheme provides common and recreational outdoor spaces and integrates the science complex into the general campus.

The buildings are accessed from two sides: from the north via Frisbie Square at the Peabody Museum and from the south via the Cabot Science courtyard, which serves as a circulation hub for the entire complex. The elegant landscaping design including small groups of trees, clearly defined geometrical patches of lawn, and brick footpaths mediates between old and new, and creates a human scale and an almost private, intimate atmosphere.

During two construction phases, first the Naito Chemistry Building to the west and then the Bauer Laboratory and Centre for Genetic Research were built. Professors specialising in medical chemistry, biochemistry, and organic chemistry head various research teams in the Naito laboratory. The Bauer Institute, on the other hand, provides laboratories for genomics and bioinformatics that can be used by varying research teams engaged in temporary interdisciplinary cooperations.

The scheme provides communal social and conference spaces to support collegial cooperation between the scientists, a spontaneous exchange of thoughts, and the generation of ideas in casual talks or during conferences. The institutes also share a centrally located entrance hall on the ground floor, which simultaneously serves as a transit space from the forecourt to the inner courtyard. Cellular office zones along the façades and glazed inner laboratories characterise the interactive work in the Bauer Building. On the upper floors of the Naito Chemistry Building, the research teams have generous laboratories including supplementary service spaces at their disposal.

The façade design was guided by the idea of integrating the building into the existing fabric. The combination of red sandstone panels and glass elements constitutes a modern interpretation of the existing brick buildings. The institute is to set itself apart from its introvert neighbours by means of an open and transparent architecture. Generously glazed areas on the exterior and interior link the building to its environment and allow sufficient daylight to enter the deep laboratories and other interior spaces.

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Originally published in: Hardo Braun, Dieter Grömling, Research and Technology Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2005.