Brockman Hall for Physics Completed
16 August 2011 | Educational, Laboratories
Brockman Hall for Physics, Rice University, photo by Michael Moran
How do we design a building to support the movement of molecules?
The Brockman Hall for Physics at Rice University, recipient of $11.1 million in federal stimulus funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, was completed in January 2011 after a compressed design and construction schedule of just 33 months, an extremely short timeline for a facility of its kind. The building became fully occupied in June 2011. It is the new home for dozens of experimental, theoretical and applied physicists who were formerly scattered in as many as five buildings across campus. Brockman Hall supports a wide range of research from Rice's departments of Physics and Astronomy and of Electrical and Computer Engineering, including atomic, molecular and optical physics; biophysics; condensed matter physics; nanoengineering and photonics.
Brockman Hall was inserted into Rice's Science Quad, photo by Red Wing Aerials
The building site, a rectangular landscape about the size of a soccer field contained by existing buildings, was chosen out of ten potential sites on the campus for its low level of intrinsic vibration, and its proximity to other science buildings. This location posed a set of unique challenges that had to be synthesized in the design while meeting the difficult technical requirements of a laboratory building. Among the questions at play were: How can a building containing large labs fit within the distinct warp and weft of the Rice campus? How can the architecture help reduce the energy demand for the labs? How can the building retain the landscape that is so important to this campus?
Brockman Hall's north bar is elevated on tapered columns, preserving the landscape, photo by Peter Aaron
To successfully fit 110,000 square feet of program into the constrained site, we split the building into two parallel bars connected by glass-enclosed bridges with an open passage that admits natural light and outdoor breezes. The most sensitive laboratories are located below grade, stabilized by an extremely robust structure. We elevated one of the bars to preserve a significant portion of the existing Quad and placed a series of outdoor gathering spaces beneath it. The raised bar has an asymmetrically vaulted ceiling, to float it above the ground plane, suspended by board-formed concrete columns.
Path and breezeway between bars, photo by Peter Aaron
A pathway between the two bars is placed intently to enhance circulation between buildings on the Quad, extending the landscape-to-building-to-landscape connections. The green roof provides insulation and water management for the building above the lower level laboratories.
Penrose frit pattern hints at the work going on inside, photo by Peter Aaron
A family of transparent facades, each tuned to its solar conditions and adjacency to other buildings, minimizes the building’s volume and allows abundant natural light to enter the building (See our blog post on prototyping the facades). The facades incorporate the predominant proportions and material palette of Rice’s architecture while employing materials that carry the legacy of classic Rice University buildings into the 21st century.
The south side creates a portal to the remade Science Quad, photo by Michael Moran
Brockman’s south side completes the courtyard for George R. Brown Hall, an early 1990s u-shaped brick building, and creates a portal to the remade Science Quad. The façade is a horizontally oriented terra-cotta screen, arranged in syncopated panels over aluminum composite that protects the labs from solar exposure while regulating natural light and privacy. The first story of the south bar is wrapped in glass bricks for transparency and an ambient glow when lit. Clay bricks between the glass relates to the banded brick facades elsewhere on campus.
Symbols cast into concrete columns, photo by Peter Aaron
Schrödinger's cat cast into concrete column, photo courtesy Rice University
The concrete columns of the new entrance portal have 18 symbols representing the classic theories of physics and astronomy cast into their surfaces, extending the tradition of iconography on Rice buildings. Visit Rice University’s Flickr page to see the other 17 symbols.
Vibration-sensitive lab, photo by Paul Hester
The laboratories were designed to satisfy the needs of specific researchers, with a loft-like interior to provide flexibility to accommodate future generations.
Glass enclosed break-out spaces and seminar rooms foster collaboration, photo by Paul Hester
The lower level is dedicated to laboratory space, and the upper floors contain a mix of office spaces in the north bar and labs in the south bar, with glass enclosed meeting spaces between them to encourage collaboration. The transparent bridges also create visual connections to all levels of the building.
Main lobby with dichroic glass wall and central stair, photo by Peter Aaron
On the ground floor, immediately off the main entrance, a central stair connects the upper and lower levels of the new facility. Dichroic glass panels on the lobby walls announce the public spaces and create the entry to the main stair. A flexible classroom and 150-seat lecture hall form the public spaces at the ground floor. Within the lecture hall, a gently shaped wood screen and double vaulted plaster ceiling between concrete beams expand the space and help to moderate light and acoustics within the room.
The central stairwell drives natural light into the lower level, photo by Michael Moran
Lecture hall with wood screens and double vaulted ceilings, photo by Michael Moran
Passage between the north and south bars, photo by Peter Aaron
Brockman Hall is a product of the careful analysis of context, culture, elements, form, iconography, materiality, and purpose in Rice’s architecture. We sought to internalize the material palette of Rice, extend the legacy of craft, and translate historic themes into contemporary detailing. The massing capitalizes on the thinness of buildings on campus, while meeting the programmatic needs for a laboratory building; providing an edited and refined 21st century expression of Rice architecture and pedagogy.