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
MFPRO+ News | Jun 24, 2024
‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ movement could create more affordable housing
The so-called “Yes in God’s Backyard” (YIGBY) movement, where houses of worship convert their properties to housing, could help alleviate the serious housing crisis affecting many communities around the country.
Student Housing | Jun 20, 2024
How student housing developments are evolving to meet new expectations
The days of uninspired dorm rooms with little more than a bed and a communal bathroom down the hall are long gone. Students increasingly seek inclusive design, communities to enhance learning and living, and a focus on wellness that encompasses everything from meditation spaces to mental health resources.
Museums | Jun 20, 2024
Connecticut’s Bruce Museum more than doubles its size with a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition
In Greenwich, Conn., the Bruce Museum, a multidisciplinary institution highlighting art, science, and history, has undergone a campus revitalization and expansion that more than doubles the museum’s size. Designed by EskewDumezRipple and built by Turner Construction, the project includes a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition as well as a comprehensive renovation of the 32,500-sf museum, which was originally built as a private home in the mid-19th century and expanded in the early 1990s.
Building Technology | Jun 18, 2024
Could ‘smart’ building facades heat and cool buildings?
A promising research project looks at the possibilities for thermoelectric systems to thermally condition buildings, writes Mahsa Farid Mohajer, Sustainable Building Analyst with Stantec.
University Buildings | Jun 18, 2024
UC Riverside’s new School of Medicine building supports team-based learning, showcases passive design strategies
The University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine has opened the 94,576-sf, five-floor Education Building II (EDII). Created by the design-build team of CO Architects and Hensel Phelps, the medical school’s new home supports team-based student learning, offers social spaces, and provides departmental offices for faculty and staff.
Healthcare Facilities | Jun 18, 2024
A healthcare simulation technology consultant can save time, money, and headaches
As the demand for skilled healthcare professionals continues to rise, healthcare simulation is playing an increasingly vital role in the skill development, compliance, and continuing education of the clinical workforce.
Mass Timber | Jun 17, 2024
British Columbia hospital features mass timber community hall
The Cowichan District Hospital Replacement Project in Duncan, British Columbia, features an expansive community hall featuring mass timber construction. The hall, designed to promote social interaction and connection to give patients, families, and staff a warm and welcoming environment, connects a Diagnostic and Treatment (“D&T”) Block and Inpatient Tower.
Concrete Technology | Jun 17, 2024
MIT researchers are working on a way to use concrete as an electric battery
Researchers at MIT have developed a concrete mixture that can store electrical energy. The researchers say the mixture of water, cement, and carbon black could be used for building foundations and street paving.
Codes and Standards | Jun 17, 2024
Federal government releases national definition of a zero emissions building
The U.S. Department of Energy has released a new national definition of a zero emissions building. The definition is intended to provide industry guidance to support new and existing commercial and residential buildings to move towards zero emissions across the entire building sector, DOE says.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 14, 2024
AEC inspections are the key to financially viable office to residential adaptive reuse projects
About a year ago our industry was abuzz with an idea that seemed like a one-shot miracle cure for both the shockingly high rate of office vacancies and the worsening housing shortage. The seemingly simple idea of converting empty office buildings to multifamily residential seemed like an easy and elegant solution. However, in the intervening months we’ve seen only a handful of these conversions, despite near universal enthusiasm for the concept.
