Putting the Art in Science

Biophilia and Well-Being: I3 Illumina, San Diego, California

Designing for a speculative client, I3 Illumina’s campus in San Diego was envisioned to be a destination for science and tech clients from around the world. “On the West Coast, the unique climate we design for makes its way into all of our projects,” says Bussard. “We take advantage of this at i3 Illumina, a dynamic space that brings together the scientific community around a lush central courtyard.” The greenery is visible throughout the building, whether scientists are catching up in a corridor or clients are visiting an office. The landscape also orients everyone while lending the calm, relaxed feeling of being connected with nature.

Greenspace extends far outside the courtyard as well, as the entire Illumina campus was designed to upend the standard research park paradigm: unimaginative lab and cubicle spaces surrounded by a parking lot. The team’s decision to locate parking underground opened up the site dramatically to uses that are much more dynamic than impervious surface lots. Expansive gardens with trees and walking paths that envelope the building are as much a part of the architecture as they are the labs.

Cross-Collaboration: Center for Novel Therapeutics, San Diego, California

The Center for Novel Therapeutics (CNT) in San Diego, California is a product of the shared vision of the Moores Cancer Center, UCSD, and various cooperative startups. Completed in 2019 and awarded the Malone Grand Orchid Award from the San Diego Architectural Foundation, it became a hub for life science experts from the public, private, and academic sectors, all under one roof. A primary goal was to encourage collaboration. While a standard for commercial laboratories is strict separation of labs and companies for reasons of intellectual property, the CNT was designed so that those privacy concerns could be relaxed while also maintaining project-specific suites. The plan allows researchers to move between commercial and academic labs and encourages the spontaneous innovation and collaboration that scientists thrive on. One of the center’s missions is combatting cancer, and the exchanges made possible by Bussard and Kornovich’s fluid, connective design facilitates discovery within a beautiful, human-centered space.

Vertical Connections: UW School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington

In a dense urban setting, it is even more important to design for ease of connection between different departments, floors, and buildings. The University of Washington (UW) medical campus is situated on tight urban blocks, but our team still found solutions that allow for spontaneous collaboration between students, faculty, and scientists.

“The ground floor is open to both the academic community and the city at large. Windows allow views into labs and classrooms, and public cafés welcome all to sit, relax, and connect,” Bussard says, who worked on the campus masterplan. Even though a student may leave their lab for the afternoon, they are welcome to unwind while still on campus. Amidst the buzz of academic activity, the gathering spaces at street level allow for relaxation and discussions among peers.

“High in the sky, there are also several bridges that connect various upper floors and departments, allowing for greater ease of circulation, a very important part of any learning environment,” Bussard adds. While stairs and elevators allow students and researchers to move vertically throughout a building, the bridges go one step further, bringing together separate structures to blur the lines between disciplines. “In a dense setting like the urban campus, creating connections akin to the organic overlaps at street level should be a focus even on upper research floors,” he adds.