Simons Center For Systems Biology
SIMONS CENTER FOR SYSTEMS BIOLOGY
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Architectural Sign Associates
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Coen + Partners
SIGNAGE
Architectural Sign Associates
MANUFACTURERS
Decoustics, Benjamin Moore, Armstrong Ceilings, Duratherm, MOHAWK GROUP/KARASTAN CONTRACT, PRESTIGE MILLWORK, SHILDAN – terracotta rainscreen system with Alphaton panels, Wausau Window and Wall Systems
MEP ENGINEERING
Princeton Engineering Group
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
Robert Silman Associates
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Van Note-Harvey Associates
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Barr & Barr
LIGHTING DESIGN
Filament 33
YEAR
2007
DESIGN TEAM LEADER
David Hess
SENIOR DESIGN PRINCIPAL
Rafael Pelli
PROJECT ARCHITECT
Magdalena Kowalska
TRAFFIC, TRANSPORTATION, AND PARKING PLANNING
BFJ Planning
LEAD ARCHITECTS
Rafael Pelli, David Hess, Magdalena Kowalska
COST CONSULTING
Vermeulens
GRAPHICS/SIGNAGE DESIGN
Architectural Sign Associates
CLIENT
Institute for Advanced Study
Text description provided by architect.
The new home for the Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), designed as an addition, seamlessly integrates with the existing three-storey Bloomberg Hall.
Configured to eliminate corridors, the building has offices for faculty members, visiting scholars, and administrative staff as well as formal and informal meetings spaces. The programmatically distinct lower floor contains the campus wide IAS computer center.
The majority of rooms in the Simons Center surround a double height space. The combined lobby, library and stair hall encourages the kind of interactions crucial to the interdisciplinary mission of the Center.
Meeting spaces strategically located around this core draw occupants towards daylight and landscape views. A large terrace overlooks a new courtyard featuring a sculpture by artist Richard Long, and creates a protected, intimate and sunlit outdoor meeting area.
The Simons Center incorporates many sustainable design features and strategies to reduce the overall environmental impact. These include: the first green roof in Princeton Township providing storm water management without adding new storm water structures or retention ponds; all interior building materials selected for low or no volatile organic compounds; an innovative mechanical system developed to optimize energy use by re-using waste heat from the computing center; occupancy sensors for lighting, temperature, and fresh air levels.
The Simons Center reinterprets the proportions and details of the original IAS pavilions, and takes advantage of its sloped site to create a courtyard connection to the existing Bloomberg Hall.
