The University at Buffalo (UB) has unveiled HOK's dramatic design for its new School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences building on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
The seven-story medical school will bring 2,000 UB faculty, staff and students daily to downtown Buffalo and, at more than 500,000-square-feet, will be one of the largest buildings constructed in Buffalo in decades. HOK’s design features two L-shaped structures linked to create a six-story, light-filled glass atrium that includes connecting bridges and a stairway. Serving as the building’s main interior “avenue,” the atrium will be naturally illuminated by skylights and two glass walls, one along Washington Street and one at the terminus of Allen Street.
The building, which HOK is designing for LEED Gold certification, will have a facade clad with a high-performance terra-cotta rain-screen and a glass curtain wall system that brings daylight deep inside.
Incorporating the NFTA Allen Street transit hub into the medical school’s ground floor provides convenient mass transit access, furthering the development of a sustainable, vibrant community.
The new medical school will help the university achieve objectives critical to the UB 2020 strategic plan: creation of a world-class medical school, recruitment of outstanding faculty-physicians to the university and transformation of the region into a major destination for innovative medical care and research.
“The new design allows us to grow our class size from 140 to 180, educating more physicians, many of whom will practice in the region,” said Michael E. Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences at UB and dean of the medical school. “It allows UB to hire more talented faculty, bringing to this community much-needed clinical services and medical training programs.”
“HOK’s design for UB’s medical school creates the heart for the new Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus while integrating and connecting to the surrounding communities," said Kenneth Drucker, FAIA, design principal for the project and design director for HOK’s New York office. "The building’s atrium will be the focal point for bringing together clinical, basic sciences and educational uses fostering collaboration.”
The building’s first two floors will house multipurpose educational and community spaces for medical school and community outreach programs.
A second-floor bridge will link to the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital and the Conventus medical office building under construction along High Street adjacent to UB’s new medical school.
The third, fourth and fifth floors of the medical school will feature core research facilities and approximately 150,000 square feet of state-of-the art research laboratories.
“The new lab spaces will allow us to efficiently group faculty by thematic research areas," said Cain. "Because they are modular, we can change their size and configuration as needed."
The sixth floor will house some of the country's most advanced specialized medical education facilities, including an expanded patient care simulation center that will feature the Behling Simulation Center currently located on UB’s South Campus. It also will house a surgical simulation center where medical students can conduct surgeries in a simulated operating room. A robotic surgery simulation center will train students and physicians in remote control surgery technologies.
The medical school’s administrative offices and academic departments will be located on floors three through seven. The seventh floor will house gross anatomy facilities.
“From the new school’s active learning environments to the highly flexible research laboratories supporting multidisciplinary teams of investigators, the design supports a range of global trends for the design of academic and research facilities,” said Bill Odell, FAIA, HOK’s director of science and technology.
"The building layout brings together academia and research to foster collaboration and interdisciplinary patient care,” added Jim Berge, AIA, principal-in-charge for the project and HOK’s director of science and technology in New York. “There will be many opportunities for students, faculty, researchers, administrators and members of the local medical community to interact.”
The $375 million medical school is funded in part by NYSUNY 2020 legislation. Groundbreaking is scheduled for September 2013 and construction is expected to be complete in 2016.
HOK’s Science +Technology group has designed medical schools and research laboratories for Florida State University, the University of Alberta, Washington University in St. Louis and The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, Pa. The firm served as lead designer for The Francis Crick Institute's cardiovascular and cancer research center in central London and won an international competition to design the Ri.MED Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center in Palermo, Sicily.
HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. Through a network of 24 offices worldwide, HOK provides design excellence and innovation to create places that enrich people's lives and help clients succeed. In 2012, for the third consecutive year, DesignIntelligence ranked HOK as the #1 role model for sustainable and high-performance design.
Related Stories
Architects | Sep 21, 2016
DLR Group broadens its practice range and market penetration with addition of Westlake Reed Leskosky
The merger, say company officials, creates “a global design leader” in a consolidating industry.
Architects | Sep 21, 2016
Design for the transition from thinking to creating
While heads-down work continues, the changing nature of learning and work has resulted in a shift toward frequent and spontaneous exchanges.
Codes and Standards | Sep 21, 2016
Healthy buildings becoming a key design priority for both architects and building owners
Nationwide survey finds nearly three of four architects cite health impacts influencing design decisions
Cultural Facilities | Sep 19, 2016
International competition recognizes insect-inspired design for Moscow Circus School
The proposal would make the school’s activities more transparent to the public.
Architects | Sep 19, 2016
A workplace designed for the innovation economy
Over the past 100 years, how we work has changed dramatically, and these changes have impacted workplace design.
Architects | Sep 16, 2016
Former architect now builds architectural wonders out of LEGO blocks
Adam Reed Tucker’s creations are currently on display at the Museum of Science and Industry.
Architects | Sep 15, 2016
Implicit bias: How the unconscious mind drives business decisions
Companies are tapping into the latest research in psychology and sociology to advance their diversity and inclusion efforts when it comes to hiring, promoting, compensation, and high-performance teaming, writes BD+C's David Barista.
Museums | Sep 14, 2016
Architectural model museum opens in Japan
The museum includes models from Japanese architects including Shingeru Ban, Kengo Kuma, and Riken Yamamoto.
Designers | Sep 13, 2016
5 trends propelling a new era of food halls
Food halls have not only become an economical solution for restauranteurs and chefs experiencing skyrocketing retail prices and rents in large cities, but they also tap into our increased interest in gourmet locally sourced food, writes Gensler's Toshi Kasai.
AEC Tech | Sep 6, 2016
Innovation intervention: How AEC firms are driving growth through R&D programs
AEC firms are taking a page from the tech industry, by infusing a deep commitment to innovation and disruption into their cultural DNA.