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The University of Michigan
Biomedical Science Research Building This state-of-the-art laboratory and research facility for the University of Michigan Medical School includes 240 biomolecular research labs for nearly 1,000 users, 120 offices, 16 break rooms, 12 conference rooms, a 300-seat auditorium, 3 combinable seminar rooms, and an underground vivarium. Sited between the Main Campus and the Medical School, the building creates a new front door to the Medical School. Its form expresses the primary programmatic functions while responding to multiple site considerations including student pathways and continuity with the adjacent green space. A shallow, continuous atrium connects a rectilinear building housing the laboratories to an organically shaped, glass-enclosed ribbon of offices. The sinuous curve of the office wing reflects the pedestrian paths that connect the two major sections of the campus. The atrium, which bisects the building lengthwise, separating scientists' offices from their laboratories, is a critical element of the building design. Interaction between researchers is encouraged by open stairs in the office ribbon, locating break rooms and conference rooms at high traffic circulation nodes, and by including unassigned seating areas along the office ribbon. The office façade is a double glass wall that is ventilated in the summer and closed in the winter. This double wall also screens the typical office clutter from the primary façade of this gateway building. The lab façades are enclosed in a terra cotta block and stainless steel panel rain screen wall enclosure system. This rain screen system provides better insulation, allows less air infiltration, and requires no scheduled maintenance. In image and function, the building will reinforce the University's position as a leader in biomedical research and its commitment to sustainable design strategies, provide a new gateway to the Medical School campus and reinforce links to the main University campus. List
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