Project overview: Buildings have historically been designed as static structures, incapable of evolving over time. This is especially true of complex facilities like research labs. But what if labs could instead adapt and stay relevant over the long haul, avoiding the steep environmental and economic costs of demolishing and rebuilding obsolete buildings? Enter the Regenerative Lab, a research building which can readily accommodate evolving research needs and even morph into entirely new uses. This innovative design concept is grounded in a modular timber and steel structure that can be readily reconfigured to change from a lab, to an office, and then residential units.
Keep Evolving. To extend building longevity, a hybrid steel and cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure ensures the permanent steel elements will endure for hundreds of years while the adaptable wood elements can be easily dissembled and reconfigured for a range of flexible, modular-driven lab layouts.
Cut Carbon. The Regenerative Lab’s steel and CLT structural system reduces embodied carbon, as the carbon associated with timber is significantly lower than with concrete. The Lab deploys CLT in dry lab and write-up areas where vibration or chemicals are not an issue or floor-to-floor heights are constrained.
Prioritize People. Though labs have historically been closed-off facilities, the hallmarks of the Regenerative Lab are openness, daylight, variety, nature and connection. An atrium offers a daylit experience filled with plants and greenery, supporting moments of rejuvenation and stress release through comfortable amenities and a path which wanders through an indoor landscape.
Project location: Boston, Massachusetts
Firm name: NBBJ
Architect of Record: NBBJ
Jury comments: This proposed design is very important to the future not only for the Urban/Planning environment but for the country’s economic safety and innovation for future technologies. This is a conceptual project that highlights and raises questions of Life Safety Codes, Regulations, Maintenance, health, and more.
