Architect: Clark Nexsen
Project Location: Research Triangle Park, NC
Project Completion Date: May, 2016
Short Description: Located in a dense hilly forest on a narrow peninsula of land, the Bioprocess Innovation Center responds to the rich topography as it weaves together building and landscape. The existing landforms are preserved and reinforced through terraced parking with a public path that steps down the hillside. The design organizes along the path and is comprised of a series of sliding tubes that float above the forest floor as they frame views into the landscape and connect the occupants with nature. The design fosters collaboration as the path transitions into a collaborative walkway inside with multiple types of gathering spaces.
Architect’s Statement: Anchoring to the Site The design responds to the existing landscape to develop a composition which actively engages and unites the built forms with nature. A narrow peninsula of land formed by two small creeks provided the opportunity to orient the building along the peninsula’s east west spine as it rests upon the relatively flat grade and can capitalize on the south facing orientation. The parking lot engages the sloping topography through terraced levels which transition to a stepped pathway. Layering and Subtracting Inspired by the qualities of transparency produced as natural light filters through the layers of a deciduous forest, the building’s form reflects the overlapping qualities in its geometry and formal composition. The form is also a clear expression of the building’s program organized into three principal bars : a laboratory bar, an administrative bar and a public space bar. These three forms along with the internal planes and volumes overlap and extend past one another evoking the forest’s transparent qualities. Each of the bars are clad in a unique skin which is s liced and carved at the ends to create spaces for research and collaboration. Rethinking Laboratory The project re-conceptualizes the role of a research laboratory building as a “home for a team of scientists .” The project fosters a strong sense of community, despite the isolated suburban setting. A central public path runs from the terraced parking through the two story entrance and lobby space where scientists mingle, then back into nature on a west facing outdoor terrace with views of the setting sun. The path is lined by a single alley of trees with benches and connects people to both nature and to one another as they interact along the path. The entrance lobby is an active living space which encourages collaboration through shared multilevel meeting spaces. Elevating Collaboration The facility fosters interaction between the scientists at multiple scales of space. Meeting areas occur throughout the building and the main collaboration spaces are located at each end of the administration bar with the clear views of the forest. Collaborative activity also takes place along the main corridor as shallow niches are carved into the corridor walls for in-promptu meetings. The main seminar room floats above the primary public path both framing views to the east and west and accenting the transition from pathway to destination in the lobby below.
Type of Construction: Tight limits in budget and construction time created unique challenges but also advantages for creating a design based on rules and constraint. The construction of the building is based on an 11’-0” lab module allowing for maximum flexibility and future research changes. The building is constructed of a steel frame and metal deck composite structure with a very cost effective standard metal siding to meet the limited developer driven budget. Each bar is constructed of a unique metal siding system with low-E aluminum storefront and curtainwall and float over a masonry base. The research bar is detailed with flat smooth panels with 1” reveals while the administration and public space bars are detailed using a tightly woven corrugated metal panel. The ends are each sliced and carved to reveal an inner core of smooth metal panel siding. On the interior, the clear organization of the building’s program was expressed with different tectonics. In the administration bar, which required lower fire ratings than the research bar wing, all of the steel structural elements and metal deck were exposed to articulate the tectonics.
