Rewriting History with the Kimball Hall Renovation

Our Cornell University Kimball Hall Renovation project was featured in the R&D Magazine June 2016 issue as the 2016 Renovated Lab of the Year recipient.

The R&D Magazine Rewriting History feature not only gives an in-depth case study of our Kimball Hall Renovation project but includes insights on the judging panel and why our project stood out as the top renovated lab in this year’s category. The Laboratory of the Year Awards recognizes excellence in research laboratory design, planning and construction. 
 

Cornell’s College of Engineering was in desperate need of a highly flexible wet bench research space, which was in sharp contrast to the 1960s era traditional engineering teaching laboratories that is the norm within the many of their existing buildings. The Kimball Hall renovation was the prototype project to demonstrate the potential that their existing buildings have to meet the next generation of interdisciplinary research needs of the College.

Although small in footprint, the renovation design of Kimball Hall weaves together a series of layers to create an integrated and cohesive research neighborhood. The simple elegance of the open loft like design execution, which was the original intention when Kimball Hall was first constructed, is accented by bold accent colors and materials within a bright daylit series of spaces.

A design that did not go unnoticed by the judges. As highlighted in the article, the judges admired our approach to creating a high level of transparency bringing daylight deep into the building. The design effectively produced ample daylight thanks to fully glazed horizontal sliding doors, open ceilings and a new curtainwall system with floor-to-ceiling glass that in addition to letting in more light also mitigates glare with the integrated sunshades and roller shades. The outcome was a success as the judges felt the use of light gave the older building a fresh look for modern times.

We are thrilled that our Cornell Kimball Hall Renovation received this accolade from R&D Magazine, and you can read the full article on our win in the June 2016 issue along with the other 2016 Lab of Year recipients.