C L U S T E R

In the heart of the Penn State University campus is the Eberly College of Science where the Department of Physics is located. The new building fills a void in the campus fabric and provides a new home for cutting-edge research lab spaces, high-bay research facility, collaboration spaces and a courtyard outside of the updated existing Osmond North lecture hall. The new facility will be instrumental in the research done by the physics department and will help attract large interdisciplinary projects to Penn State.  

Campus connector

The site is situated adjacent to a main campus pedestrian artery which provided an opportunity for the new building to be a nuclei along this route. Introducing a beacon or nodal point along the pedestrian artery with building articulation, a main entry point and transparent envelope provides cues a important moment along the pedestrian path.

Presence

The overlay of the new building and existing campus needed to address the degree of presence and attitude toward its neighbors. Finding an architectural composition between complementary and translational elements provided a basis for the building form, articulation and connection to the existing campus.

Cluster of Volumes

Agriculture has deep roots at Penn State University from its origins, to its programs and its ties to local vernacular architecture. The clustered forms of agricultural buildings are organized by function and influenced the design on how the form became a series of adjacent program volumes.