Description

The building on the former site of Jones and Laughlin Steel Company sets the stage for a new economical era that is to follow the decline of Pittsburgh’s steel industry. It is the first realised scheme out of six proposed research centres designed to attract enterprises of all fields of biomedicine in a medium-term perspective.

The technology park is located on a narrow site between Monogehela River and rail tracks on the outskirts of the city. To the north, the main façades of all buildings are arranged linearly along the same building line. The new facility is the first completed project and forms the entrance to the research park: visitors are guided onto the premises through an arcade parallel to the building line. The main entrance to the building itself is located at the northwestern gable end.

The building programme called for an interactive environment supporting the communication between scientists, visitors, and clients. The laboratories were to adapt quickly and flexibly to changing requirements and the needs of different users. The plan layout shows zones of varying size and divisibility that can either be equipped with supplementary services or not. The laboratory wing has a traditional layout with a central corridor and double service walls.

Since the old foundations of the steel plant restricted the depth of the new building’s foundations and due to the extent of the required services, the entire mechanical engineering equipment had to be accommodated on the ground floor. The alternative to put them on the top floor was ruled out because ventilation from bottom to top made more sense and laboratory equipment is sensitive to vibrations.

The various internal uses are reflected in the façades. The laboratory zone in the north presents itself as a largely solid façade with punched windows; the office zone received generous strip windows and solar blinds fixed to exterior steel frames. Silver-blue steel panels protect the building from the elements. The fully glazed and highly transparent entrance atrium with single flight stairs linking all floors forms the joint circulation hub for the various start-up enterprises. At night, the vertical and horizontal linking elements are illuminated and demonstrate openness while the largely solid laboratory façades express the contemplative nature of research.

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