Designer labs: architecture discovers science
Cohen, J.
Science 287(5451): 210-214
2000
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 10660416 Document Number: 521134
Attracted by increased funding and the growing prestige of science, world-renowned architects, in collaboration with special laboratory consultants, are changing the public face of research. Labs, particularly those on university campuses, have long been the plainest of buildings, stressing function over form to a fault. Cincinnati's new $46 million Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, designed by Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry, who recently won praise for his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, is anything but plain, looking more like a sculpture than a building. Many of the handsome new labs being built aim to create environments in which scientists from various labs, and even different disciplines, interact, while providing private spaces. Although the partnerships produce stunning designs and innovative working environments, as a recent University of Cincinnati symposium on science and architecture demonstrated, there remains much debate about whether the quality of the architecture actually enhances the quality of the science.