Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) recently opened a new building that will provide interdisciplinary learning and research space for its faculties of Science and Engineering. The design takes design cues from natural elements and local building traditions. The atrium features an 82-foot-long blue whale skeleton that washed ashore in Newfoundland. This artifact reflects the university’s ocean-related expertise and inspires scientists and researchers.
The Core Science Facility houses Electrical and Computer Science, and includes research and learning labs, renewable energy curricula, and rooftop research labs that overlook solar panels and wind turbines. The teaching lab and research labs are co-located so undergraduates can assist with graduate research and participate in more hands-on learning opportunities.
The facility’s three tower block pavilions are linked by two tall vertical atria that promote interaction among students, researchers, and instructors from different disciplines. The North Atlantic’s rugged icebergs and local marine environment inspired the building’s shape and colors.
The main floor concourse is a vibrant social hub and another area for cross-disciplinary interaction. It also houses aquatics labs and classroom, lab, and meeting space for the Core Research Equipment and Instrument Training (CREAIT) Network.
The second floor is more student-focused, with project studios, computer labs, classrooms, and collaboration areas for hands-on learning. The three upper levels contain research labs and learning spaces for graduate students. Co-locating research and teaching labs enable students to share specialized equipment, exposing undergraduate students to post-graduate research.
Flexible furniture, pod workstations, and flat panel screens in lab spaces support group work. Windows into these lab and studio spaces provide a view into research taking place on all five floors.
On the sustainability front, chilled beams and a heat recovery wheel reduce the building’s energy use by 40 percent compared to a conventional design. The facility also offers private practice space for outside partners, including the Ocean Frontier Institute, to work alongside university researchers.
Building Team:
Owner and/or developer: Memorial University Newfoundland
Design architect: HOK
Architect of record: HOK
MEP engineer: TTN in association with RG Vanderweil
Structural engineer: DBA in association with Entuitive
General contractor/construction manager: MARCO
Related Stories
University Buildings | Jul 11, 2024
3 considerations for designing healthy, adaptable student dining
Amanda Vigneau, IIDA, NCDIQ, LEED ID+C, Director, Shepley Bulfinch, shares three ways student dining facilities have evolved to match changes in student life.
Laboratories | Jul 3, 2024
New science, old buildings: Renovating for efficiency, flexibility, and connection
What does the research space of the future look like? And can it be housed in older buildings—or does it require new construction?
University Buildings | Jun 28, 2024
The American University in Cairo launches a 270,000-sf expansion of its campus in New Cairo, Egypt
In New Cairo, Egypt, The American University in Cairo (AUC) has broken ground on a roughly 270,000-sf expansion of its campus. The project encompasses two new buildings intended to enhance the physical campus and support AUC’s mission to provide top-tier education and research.
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.
Headquarters | Jun 5, 2024
Several new projects are upgrading historic Princeton, N.J.
Multifamily, cultural, and office additions are among the new construction.
Mass Timber | May 31, 2024
Mass timber a big part of Western Washington University’s net-zero ambitions
Western Washington University, in Bellingham, Wash., 90 miles from Seattle, is in the process of expanding its ABET-accredited programs for electrical engineering, computer engineering and science, and energy science. As part of that process, the university is building Kaiser Borsari Hall, the 54,000-sf new home for those academic disciplines that will include teaching labs, research labs, classrooms, collaborative spaces, and administrative offices.
Products and Materials | May 31, 2024
Top building products for May 2024
BD+C Editors break down May's top 15 building products, from Durat and CaraGreen's Durat Plus to Zurn Siphonic Roof Drains.
University Buildings | May 30, 2024
Washington University School of Medicine opens one of the world’s largest neuroscience research buildings
In St. Louis’ Cortex Innovation District, Washington University School of Medicine recently opened its new Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building. Designed by CannonDesign and Perkins&Will, the 11-story, 609,000-sf facility is one of the largest neuroscience buildings in the world.
University Buildings | May 10, 2024
UNC Chapel Hill’s new medical education building offers seminar rooms and midsize classrooms—and notably, no lecture halls
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has unveiled a new medical education building, Roper Hall. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) and Flad Architects, the UNC School of Medicine’s new building intends to train new generations of physicians through dynamic and active modes of learning.
Student Housing | May 3, 2024
Student housing construction dips in the first quarter of 2024
Investment in college dorms dipped slightly in the first quarter of 2024, but remains higher than a year ago.
