Completion Date: 2005
Square Footage: 123,667

The consolidation of the Chemistry and Physics departments into a single building, at the heart of the university has given a new prominence to the sciences, and also created a spectrum of public and social spaces that enliven this part of the campus and serve the entire academic community.

Our planning focused on environments that foster collaborative teaching and research. Spaces for both departments are planned side-by-side on each floor to promote a collegial environment. The central atrium unifies the building vertically, providing transparency and connectivity - a place for interaction beyond the classroom, and science on display.

Chemistry research laboratories are dedicated to electrochemistry, biochemistry, plasma research, colloidal and interfacial dynamics, and analytical chemistry. Physics research spaces include a nano-materials lab, surface science lab, scanning probe and X-Ray lab, magnetic nano-layers lab, optical materials lab, and theory computer labs. The main physics shop features an overhead 10-ton crane; sharing the crane with the shop is a high energy physics research lab, with an adjacent super-computing lab/processor farm.

The 177-seat planetarium is part of the Physics Astronomy program. This fully digital theater features state-of-the-art digital projectors and a sixty foot diameter dome; it is used as teaching space for astronomy, anatomy, and the general sciences, as well as the central lecture hall. The planetarium is frequently used as a teaching facility for local school districts, and has become a popular after-hours venue for the campus.