When Maroon is Green
When faculty and students recently moved into UMass Amherst's new Integrated Sciences Building (ISB), they found an impressive four-story, $97 million-structure featuring transparency and interconnectedness.
The 155,000-square-foot ISB epitomizes a model for science teaching and research, integrating the life, chemical, and physical sciences. Paul Lahti, undergraduate program director in the chemistry department, calls it a disciplinary "mixing bowl" and a "walk-through science mall." Dean of the new College of Natural Sciences Steve Goodwin praises the openness of the design, encouraging interaction among students and faculty. "It allows students from different areas to collaborate, and that's an essential part of their education," he says.
One of the building's two wings houses offices and classrooms, with multiple breakout rooms and corner lounges. The first three floors of the second wing house interconnected teaching labs, a 300-seat auditorium with the latest scientific demonstration technologies, and an 85-seat classroom. Research labs will soon occupy the fourth floor, filled with equipment on wheels to encourage customized activity and collaboration. Throughout, interior windows allow students to watch lab work in progress. Inside the labs, much of the state-of-the-art lab equipment features special see-through protective hoods.
The ISB is a vital component of the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute, an ongoing collaborative research partnership between UMass Amherst and Baystate Medical Center in nearby Springfield. It is also the first major phase of the university's development of life sciences facilities to support its emergence as a national leader among public research universities. Construction of the interconnecting $156.5 million New Laboratory Science Building has already begun. Scheduled to open in fall 2012, the LEED-certified facility will house interdisciplinary research teams working on major initiatives from development of biofuels to clean energy technologies, pharmaceutical production, drug design, and tissue engineering.
From rooftop to basement, the ISB is packed with energy reduction and sustainability features. All the steel and concrete from its on-site predecessor, Marshall Annex, has been reused in the new structure, which also incorporates a rainwater recycling system and two roof gardens. Energy-reducing heating and cooling systems maximize the efficiency of the campus's brand new Central Heating Plant. Motion sensors and timers on lights reduce energy consumption and the teaching labs feature low-flow fume hoods. Construction materials include bamboo cabinetry and floors of recycled rubber.
Down the road, faculty and students in the studio arts programs of the art department are proud occupiers of the new Studio Arts Building. This $26.5 million, 47,000 square foot structure brings together the painting, printmaking, sculpture, and ceramics programs, formerly scattered in several locations.
The building's two wings boast impressive facilities including fully equipped, flexibly designed teaching studios, individual and group studios, a central location for photography, a high-end digital and computer graphics studio, lecture rooms, and ample space for presentation and review of student projects. Its centerpiece, a dramatic glass atrium, serves as the building's main entrance, an attractive informal gathering space, and a venue for special events such as art shows and guest lectures-overlooked by the colorful sculpture "Leaves, Sky, Water," the creation and gift of internationally acclaimed artist Shan Shan Sheng '87 MFA.
Ceramics major Liz Swindell '11 helped set up the new ceramics room and now loves the pleasant surroundings and time-saving equipment but most of all appreciates what the building makes happen inside-and outside when the weather is fine: "It's combining people from different concentrations. Up till now I haven't had contact with artists in other disciplines. There's a lot of creative energy swimming around in there, the chance for discussions and to bounce ideas off one another."
Designed by the Gund Partnership of Cambridge, Mass., the V-shaped building features sustainable materials and two big plusses for artists-natural ventilation from operable windows and naturally lit spaces. Advanced ventilation systems are also in place to handle fumes and odors and various measures conserve energy and water.