Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research
Cambridge, MA, USA
2015

The best science depends on shared discovery as much as on the tools and spaces for personal inquiry. The Novartis building at 22 Windsor St. is designed as an incubator for community and collaboration within a state-of-the-art research environment. Moving away from an introverted lab model, the new facility promotes engagement within as well as outside the lab. Broad sightlines and a modular furniture system transform siloed research space into a flexible platform for collective investigation. Elsewhere, small nooks and larger communal spaces meet in daylight-filled atria along a continuous stair: vibrant spaces for chance encounters. On the exterior, glass louvers with copper mesh interlayers shade sensitive lab areas while social spaces are expressed by large stone frames, enlivening the southern façade in a dialogue with the campus, community, and city.

Credits:

Design Team: Toshiko Mori, Marta Fenollosa, Joshua Uhl, Christopher Agosta, David Jaubert, Mathieu Lemieux-Blanchard, Rachel Robinson, Andreas Tjeldflaat
Executive Architect: Cannon Design
Contractor: Skanska
Structural, MEP, Electrical, & Lighting: Cannon Design
Landscape: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

Photographs © Iwan Baan