The recently completed Engineering Research Center (ERC) at Brown University provides the school with 80,000 sf of space across three-floors. The building houses specialized research facilities for nanomaterials, photonics, and environmental science to help expand research in renewable energy and advanced materials.
Among the new $88-million facility’s spaces are an 8,000-sf cleanroom for nanomaterials, microelectronics, and photonics, an imaging suite, a bioimaging suite, 22 open-plan research labs, 116 dedicated workstations for graduate students, 20 lab modules, 10 conference/meeting spaces, and a café.
Photo: Warren Jagger Photography.
Also included are the Hazeltine Commons on the building’s first floor and Giancarlo Plaza, a green space outside the building’s front doors. These two spaces are designed to create an “intellectual community” for faculty and students from across the campus.
The ERC is is tracking LEED Gold Certification with an energy and performance goal of 25% better than minimum efficiency and performance criteria established in the Rhode Island-adopted International Energy Conservation Code. Among the building’s sustainable features are 60 glass reinforced concrete vertical fins to manage solar gain, four water-filling stations, and a façade made from 40% glass to capture natural daylight and lower energy costs.
Photo: Warren Jagger Photography.
Shawmut Design and Construction used Integrated Project Delivery and Lean Construction delivery methods to finish the building months ahead of schedule. This is the first time a Brown University building was completed using these methods.
See Also: Virginia Commonwealth has at least three major expansion projects under construction
Photo: Warren Jagger Photography.
Photo: Warren Jagger Photography.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Oct 16, 2015
Competency-based learning: A glimpse into the future of higher education?
For better or worse, the higher education experience for many young Millennials and Gen Zers will not resemble the four-year, life-altering experience that we enjoyed—it’s just too costly.
University Buildings | Sep 21, 2015
Vietnamese university to turn campus into ‘terraced forest’
Pockets of plantings will be dispersed throughout the staggered floors of the building, framing the expansive courtyard at its center.
University Buildings | Sep 21, 2015
6 lessons in campus planning
For campus planning, focus typically falls on repairing the bricks and mortar without consideration of program priorities. Gensler's Pamela Delphenich offers helpful tips and advice.
Mixed-Use | Aug 26, 2015
Innovation districts + tech clusters: How the ‘open innovation’ era is revitalizing urban cores
In the race for highly coveted tech companies and startups, cities, institutions, and developers are teaming to form innovation hot pockets.
University Buildings | Aug 13, 2015
Best of Education Design: 9 projects named AIA Education Facility Design Award winners
Georgia Tech's Clough Commons, Boston's Berklee Tower, and seven other facilities were honored for aiding learning and demonstrating excellent architectural design.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
UNIVERSITY SECTOR GIANTS: Collaboration, creativity, technology—hallmarks of today’s campus facilities
At a time when competition for the cream of the student/faculty crop is intensifying, colleges and universities must recognize that students and parents are coming to expect an education environment that foments collaboration, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Contractors | Jul 29, 2015
Consensus Construction Forecast: Double-digit growth expected for commercial sector in 2015, 2016
Despite the adverse weather conditions that curtailed design and construction activity in the first quarter of the year, the overall construction market has performed extremely well to date, according to AIA's latest Consensus Construction Forecast.
University Buildings | Jul 28, 2015
OMA designs terraced sports center for UK's Brighton College
Designs for what will be the biggest construction project in the school’s 170-year history feature a rectangular building at the edge of the school’s playing field. A running track is planned for the building’s roof, while sports facilities will be kept underneath.
University Buildings | Jul 21, 2015
Maker spaces: Designing places to test, break, and rebuild
Gensler's Kenneth Fisher and Keller Roughton highlight recent maker space projects at MIT and the University of Nebraska that provide just the right mix of equipment, tools, spaces, and disciplines to spark innovation.
University Buildings | Jul 2, 2015
Design for new pavilion in Toronto includes a ‘peel-away’ façade
An architect's proposal for a renovation of the main office building at the Ontario College of Art and Design features a façade that fans out from the edges of the building, like it’s opening up to visitors.
