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UCONN Bio-Science

Bio-Science Complex

A true university becomes more vibrant as it provides places for a diverse and interdisciplinary search for knowledge. A home for collaborative and interdisciplinary research, the facility was one of the first in the nation to integrate plant and animal experimentation. Most innovative was the design of an incubator wing for entrepreneurs aiming to take this research to market.

COLLABORATION ART INTEGRATION RESULT

Location

Storrs, Connecticut

Services

Complete Architectural Services

Project Size and Type

76,000 s.f.
New Construction

Schedule

Completion: 2002

Collaboration

Working with departments which had historically been separated, the very process of program development began the collaborative integration across departmental lines. Imagining the spaces necessary for their collective work opened up the imagination for possibilities of integrated research, common now but highly innovative at the time.

Art Integration

Everything is related. The design created multiple opportunities for collaborative interaction in the natural flow of the architecture from strategically located meeting areas to glass stair towers which brought researchers together while experientially connecting them to the campus as a whole. Images of trees imbedded in the brick façade express the underlying relationship to the natural work of all the research at the Complex.

Result

The creative imagination unfettered. Even before the facility was completed, integrated research inspired by the vision for the Bio-Science Complex initiated break through discoveries in genetic engineering. These collaborations have continued to stimulate research that will accelerate the delivery to the market and general usage.