Michigan State University
(MSU) recently opened its new Bio Engineering Facility in East Lansing, Mich., a four-story, 130,000-square-foot research laboratory building that incorporates storefront, curtainwall and entrance systems finished in a modern palette of durable, architectural coatings.
COLLABORATION + CONSTRUCTION
MSU’s Infrastructure Planning and Facilities department involved Troy, Mich.-based architectural/engineering consultants Integrated Design Solutions (IDS) early in the Bio Engineering Facility’s development to ensure the strategic, aesthetic and performance goals were achieved. It was completed in December 2015.
AESTHETICS + APPLICATIONS
Within the facility, laboratories have an open-floor design and their modular construction provide flexibility as the nature of research evolves. “The design of the new building features a four-story atrium with an artistic stairway configuration that resembles a giant DNA strand,” describes Jeffrey D. Johnson, AIA, IDS vice president and director of workplace architecture. “The terrazzo flooring design mimics a nerve cell pattern.”
Bringing the architectural vision to reality, Glazing Solutions Inc., Morrice, Mich., installed Walker, Mich.-based
Tubelite Inc.‘s Narrow Stile and Wide Stile Doors. These entrance systems were selected with continuous hinges and subframes. For this project, Glazing Solutions installed Tubelite’s 400 Series as a curtainwall system on the upper levels and as a storefront application on the lower level.
Kevin S. Marshall, AIA, LEED BD+C, senior associate and project architect at IDS, explains that Tubelite’s 400 Series storefront and curtainwall systems’ vertical dimensions “correspond to the activity taking place inside. The communal spaces are represented by tall sections and the workstations by the shorter sections. While the exposed structure allows for tall floor-to-floor spans, we chose to emphasize the horizontal.”
PALETTE + PERFORMANCE
A palette of gray, white and black in glass and metal distinguish the new facility from both the traditional red brick of the campus standard and beige of the cast concrete of the more recent structures. “The color was selected … to somewhat match the color pallet and context of the surrounding buildings,” says Jeff Kasdorf, MSU’s Infrastructure Planning and Facilities’ design representative. “We did not however want to replicate the precast concrete or metal panel that was used in the adjacent facilities.”
Marshall agrees, “The facility had to blend into the campus, tie into its surroundings, but also stand out as its own destination.”
Meeting both the aesthetic and long-term maintenance expectations, Wausau, Wis.-based Linetec finished all Tubelite’s curtainwall, storefront and entrance systems’ aluminum framing in Minneapolis-based Valspar Corp.‘s Fluropon coating systems in Bone White.
ENERGY + EXCELLENCE
“Along with providing a leading-edge facility that helped change the way scientists work, the university’s top performance objective was the ambitious goal of 50 percent overall energy savings,” notes Johnson. “The result was a groundswell of cooperation and support to reach new heights in energy savings.”
Stephen Hsu, MSU vice president of research and graduate studies, concludes, “This building, with its emphasis on bringing together engineers and basic science researchers with medical researchers, will provide us with remarkable opportunities for solving some of humanity’s biggest challenges.”
Michigan State University’s Bio Engineering Facility, East Lansing, Mich.
Owner: Michigan State University, East Lansing
Design/construction representative: Michigan State University’s Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, East Lansing
Architectural/engineering consultant: Integrated Design Solutions, Troy, Mich.
Construction manager: Clark Construction Co., East Lansing
Curtainwall/entrance systems glass fabricator: Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, Santa Monica, Calif., www.obe.com
Curtainwall and entrance systems finisher: Linetec, Wausau, Wis., www.linetec.com
Glazing contractor: Glazing Solutions Inc., Morrice, Mich.,
www.glazingsolutionsinc.com
Metal panel fabricator: Sobotec Ltd., Grand Rapids, Mich., sobotec.com
Curtainwall/entrance systems: Tubelite Inc., Walker, Mich., www.tubeliteinc.com
Curtainwall/entrance systems glass: Guardian Industries, Auburn Hills, Mich., www.guardian.com
Curtainwall/entrance systems coatings: Valspar Corp., Minneapolis, www.valsparinspireme.com
Metal composite material: Alucobond by 3A Composites USA Inc., Davidson, N.C., www.alucobondusa.com
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Mary Avery serves as Walker, Mich.-based Tubelite Inc.’s director of marketing and oversees its architectural specification and continuing education programs. She can be reached at mavery@tubeliteinc.com. For more information, visit www.tubliteinc.com.