Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) recently opened a new building that will provide interdisciplinary learning and research space for its faculties of Science and Engineering. The design takes design cues from natural elements and local building traditions. The atrium features an 82-foot-long blue whale skeleton that washed ashore in Newfoundland. This artifact reflects the university’s ocean-related expertise and inspires scientists and researchers.
The Core Science Facility houses Electrical and Computer Science, and includes research and learning labs, renewable energy curricula, and rooftop research labs that overlook solar panels and wind turbines. The teaching lab and research labs are co-located so undergraduates can assist with graduate research and participate in more hands-on learning opportunities.
The facility’s three tower block pavilions are linked by two tall vertical atria that promote interaction among students, researchers, and instructors from different disciplines. The North Atlantic’s rugged icebergs and local marine environment inspired the building’s shape and colors.
The main floor concourse is a vibrant social hub and another area for cross-disciplinary interaction. It also houses aquatics labs and classroom, lab, and meeting space for the Core Research Equipment and Instrument Training (CREAIT) Network.
The second floor is more student-focused, with project studios, computer labs, classrooms, and collaboration areas for hands-on learning. The three upper levels contain research labs and learning spaces for graduate students. Co-locating research and teaching labs enable students to share specialized equipment, exposing undergraduate students to post-graduate research.
Flexible furniture, pod workstations, and flat panel screens in lab spaces support group work. Windows into these lab and studio spaces provide a view into research taking place on all five floors.
On the sustainability front, chilled beams and a heat recovery wheel reduce the building’s energy use by 40 percent compared to a conventional design. The facility also offers private practice space for outside partners, including the Ocean Frontier Institute, to work alongside university researchers.
Building Team:
Owner and/or developer: Memorial University Newfoundland
Design architect: HOK
Architect of record: HOK
MEP engineer: TTN in association with RG Vanderweil
Structural engineer: DBA in association with Entuitive
General contractor/construction manager: MARCO
Related Stories
| Feb 6, 2012
Siemens gifts Worcester Polytechnic Institute $100,000 for fire protection lab renovation
Siemens support is earmarked for the school’s Fire Protection Engineering Lab, a facility that has been forwarding engineering and other advanced degrees, graduating fire protection engineers since 1979.
| Feb 2, 2012
Fire rated glazing helps historic university preserve its past
When the University embarked on its first major addition since the opening of Hutchins Hall in 1933, preserving the Collegiate Gothic-style architecture was of utmost importance.
| Feb 2, 2012
Next phase of construction begins on Scripps Prebys Cardiovascular Institute
$456 million Institute will be comprehensive heart center for 21st Century.
| Feb 1, 2012
Two new research buildings dedicated at the University of South Carolina
The two buildings add 208,000 square feet of collaborative research space to the campus.
| Jan 31, 2012
Fusion Facilities: 8 reasons to consolidate multiple functions under one roof
‘Fusing’ multiple functions into a single building can make it greater than the sum of its parts. The first in a series on the design and construction of university facilities.
| Jan 27, 2012
BRB Architects designs new campus center for Molloy College
Intended to be the centerpiece of the College’s transformation from a commuter college to a 24-hour learning community, the “Public Square” will support student life with spaces such as a café, lounges, study rooms, student club space, a bookstore and an art gallery.
| Jan 19, 2012
BOKA Powell-designed facility at Texas A&M Bryan campus
The new facility provides programs for the Texas A&M Health Science Center, the Texas Brain and Spine Institute, Mary Crowley Cancer Research Centers, and Blinn College Allied Health programs.
| Jan 4, 2012
Shawmut Design & Construction awarded dorm renovations at Brown University
Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2012, and will be completed by December 2012.
| Jan 3, 2012
New Chicago hospital prepared for pandemic, CBR terror threat
At a cost of $654 million, the 14-story, 830,000-sf medical center, designed by a Perkins+Will team led by design principal Ralph Johnson, FAIA, LEED AP, is distinguished in its ability to handle disasters.
| Dec 20, 2011
Gluckman Mayner Architects releases design for Syracuse law building
The design reflects an organizational clarity and professional sophistication that anticipates the user experience of students, faculty, and visitors alike.
