We are pleased to announce that the Amherst College New Science Center is the recipient of a 2022 AIA Interior Architecture Award. This award celebrates the most innovative and spectacular interior spaces, and how impactful building interiors make their mark on the cities, places and spaces where we live and work.
Photo Credit: Robert Benson
Meticulous craft, layered transparency and academic connectivity are the driving forces behind the New Science Center. Set against a backdrop of the Pelham Hills beyond, a collection of five distinct building components is nestled into the new Campus Greenway. Two high energy laboratory wings tuck into the hillside to the east and three pavilions of low intensity uses extend uphill to the academic core. A central daylight-filled Commons serves as the building’s social heart, openly welcoming the entire academic community through a campus scaled gesture — an ultra-transparent window into science.
Photo Credit: Chuck Choi
Charged with promoting interaction among students in the sciences, across departments and with the campus, the New Science Center at Amherst College creates an open and accessible learning environment for the entire campus community.
Photo Credit: Chuck Choi
Photo Credit: Chuck Choi
From overall organization to detailing, the design promotes transparency and interaction. The program is organized into five building elements, two high energy laboratory wings tucked into the hillside along the east edge of the site and three pavilions of lower intensity program set in the landscape to the west, towards campus. The lab wings and pavilions open to a glass enclosed commons promoting a community of science. The activity within the science center is visible to the College at large through the glass walls of the commons.
Photo Credit: Chuck Choi
Northeastern EXP features an organic pinwheel design, shaping research and classroom neighborhoods with shared community spaces radiating from the core to define each area. The building façade was tuned to achieve a 78% reduction in peak solar heat gain and a 62% reduction in cumulative solar radiation leading to energy use reductions and reduced mechanical system sizing. The use of stainless steel further leads to an embodied carbon reduction of almost one million tons when compared to aluminum while the natural stainless surface reflects light in a natural and warm tone giving the building an inherent energy.
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