We are pleased to announce that the Bridgewater State University Science and Mathematics Center has been recognized by this year’s AIA New England’s jury with an Honorable Mention.
Looking to accommodate growth along with new academic programs, and driven to consolidate the science and mathematics programs under one roof, the design team proposed an addition/renovation of the existing center. The project transforms an outdated building into a state-of-the-art science facility that revitalizes the heart of the main campus, in addition to defining new green space amenities which contribute to improving this region of the campus.
The University built their previous science center in 1964. Since then, the number of full-time students on campus increased ten-fold. The project needed to accommodate the enrollment growth and support new programs with vastly different pedagogy. The University’s need demanded an innovative concept that would collocate the sciences and math under one roof in an interactive environment and transform the science center into a hub of student life and educational activity. The challenge was to create this science center as a visible and integral component of the campus on a site occupied by the pre-existing science building which left little room for such a new presence at the heart of the campus.
The solution demolishes one wing of the existing L-shaped building; gut renovates the remaining wing and creates a major addition. This design choice provides a beautiful environment for interaction on all levels. In addition, the completed project creates a vital new campus green shared by the existing campus center and existing library. Entrances are located at the end of each of the three wings to integrate the complex into the network of campus paths that expose the campus community to “science on display” as one navigates through the building.
Related:
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Part mapping exercise, part design project, part model-shop tutorial, the DigiFab Quilt is a favorite tradition of the OpenLAB Studio Fabrication course. Referencing a map from 1912 of the Nubian Square site and comparing it to the present day, students designed a ‘speculative interpolation’ that imagined a potential urban condition that might have existed between these two moments in Boston’s development.
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