Project name: Williams College Wachenheim Science Center
Project overview: The Wachenheim Science Center is an addition connected by a two-story glass bridge to the existing Science Complex at the College. It houses the departments of geosciences, psychology and mathematics|statistics, along with much needed general-purpose classrooms. Celebrating the identity and specific culture of each department while maintaining the scale and fabric of the Science Quad were signature goals for the College. As a result, this intentionally quiet building is at times almost invisible, yet still has a distinctive personality.
The 113,000 SF Center replaces a 60,000 SF 1960s science building without fundamentally changing the character and scale of the cherished Science Quad. Through massing and materiality, the Science Center focuses upon the scale and warm embrace of its spaces both inside and out by making a large building appear small and discreet. Great care was taken to embed the building’s mass in the hillside to reduce its scale and to align its parapet with the eave lines of its historic 3-story neighbors along the Science Quad.
As an assemblage, the Wachenheim Science Center provides an interesting counterpoint to a more typical monolithic interdisciplinary science center as it features a singular identity, blended disciplines and monumental scale. It is this particularly nuanced expression that places such intimate focus upon the culture and pedagogy of the three academic disciplines it houses, which in turn generates its unique character and scale.
Project location: Williamstown, Massachusetts
Firm name: PAYETTE
Architect of Record: PAYETTE
Completion: 2021
Client: Williams College
Jury comments: Great work of architecture with a lot to appreciate, particularly the restraint of the plan and exterior form. Well restrained overall and raised the jury’s question of what might elevate it to be a design-award winner.
