The Universities at Shady Grove Biomedical Sciences & Engineering Education Facility

The Biomedical Sciences and Engineering (BSE) Education Facility at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) optimizes the built environment’s impact on human and environmental resilience—making it one of the most sustainable laboratory buildings in the country. Biophilic strategies drove the LEED Platinum design, resulting in a building that enhances human health through access to daylight, fresh air, and views to nature while restoring the adjacent wetland. 87% of the BSE’s occupied spaces have exterior views complemented by natural materials like reclaimed wood, living walls, and water features—fostering feelings of well-being and productivity.

In collaboration with Cooper Carry.

The building graciously opens into a welcoming six-story atrium, where visitors are washed in daylight and connected to an ecosystem of academic cross-pollination. Looking up from the atrium’s entry level, instrumentation labs are displayed along an interior glass shelf where they harvest daylight and express the building’s programmatic identity. Wrapping around these labs and connecting to other academic spaces, the atrium fosters innumerable moments for interdisciplinary collaboration—creating a central living room for the USG campus that is active day and night.

The BSE advances access to interdisciplinary education, research, and training in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medical Sciences (STEMM). At six stories tall and 228,000 square feet, the building houses academic programs in dentistry, mechanical engineering, biotechnology, biological sciences, electrical engineering, and associated fields. In addition to one ”icon” laboratory space located on each floor, over 30,000 square feet of innovation labs and maker spaces occupy the ground floor where they celebrate entrepreneurship and engage the community.

Biophilic Design & Environmentally Responsible Behavior

To help assess the impact of the BSE, the project team worked with Dr. Erin Hamilton of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose research on environmentally responsible behaviors (ERBs) brought her to the USG campus to compare user experiences of two different LEED buildings. The BSE’s biophilic design visibly celebrates environmental connectivity, user health, and sustainable habits. The other building, while LEED certified, does not include biophilic design elements or engage occupants in its sustainable features. Through surveys and research, Dr. Hamilton concluded that biophilic design, as exemplified at BSE, bolsters physical and psychological well-being and enables environmentally responsible behaviors.

Dr. Hamilton Presents ERB Research to AIA Japan

87% of the BSE’s occupied spaces have exterior views complemented by natural materials like reclaimed wood, living walls, and water features—fostering feelings of wellbeing, productivity, and a sense of discovery. Materials, daylight, and views work in concert to create a wide variety of human scaled spaces and experiences. Moving through the building, users enjoy the tactility and sweeping forms of wood, the thrill of traversing a bridge four or five stories in the air, the energy felt when looking in on innovative collaboration, and the satisfaction of finding a favorite spot to work, relax, or catch up with friends.

Providing a new campus gateway, the BSE reorganizes the broader campus environment toward nature and rehabilitates the local wetlands. An elevated boardwalk through the wetlands immerses pedestrians in the campus’ natural environment. The Piney Branch Water Garden at the boardwalk’s terminus demonstrates the symbiotic relationship between public art, building performance, ecological connectivity, and human comfort.