New England Biolabs
Design Competition
Ipswich, MA
150,000 SF
Selected among 300 entrants as one of five first-stage winners in an international design competition, the design represents a new headquarters facility for a molecular biology research company. Sited along the edge of the main lawn and following the contours of the hill, the new facility’s exterior massing is composed of four similar massing elements that are sympathetic to the scale of the original buildings. These four elements are interlocked by three tropical winter gardens, which serve as refuge for the scientists from the long New England winters. Scientists have direct access to the winter garden through the common areas and cafeteria; and operable windows from the office areas open onto these tropical spaces. The geometry of the buildings, while designed to allow the maximum amount of daylight into the winter garden and lab environment, evoke the idea of manor houses on a farm as it cascades along the hill.