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"Our challenge was to create a building that incorporates a diverse program while ensuring the establishment of a sense of place for the occupants," says BNIM principal Kimberly Hickson, AIA. "The result is a design approach that considers form and function holistically, promoting the well being of the users as well as their productivity."

The IMM, part of the University of Texas at Houston Health Science Center, was established to support research collaboration in the area of molecular medicine, particularly in human genetics, proteomics, and bioinformatics. Just as the building is receiving accolades in the design world, the research institute is attracting some of the world's top experts in these fields.

The Texas Medical Center has over 40 member institutions, 11 educational institutions, and more than 65,000 employees. The Sarofim Building is located in the southwest quadrant of the 800-acre (320-hectare) campus along Braes Bayou. Houston philanthropist Fayez S. Sarofim, who gave the UT Health Science Center the largest gift it has ever received — $25 million to advance stem cell research — is the namesake of the facility.

Science on Wings

The building features two wings that flare out from a component that BNIM associate Filippo Castore, AIA refers to as the "knuckle" of the building. With the knuckle at the east end of the building, the wings are about 70 feet (21 meters) apart at the west end, creating an open-air atrium space with a water garden at ground level.

The south wing houses administrative offices, while the north wing is for core research labs. The abundance of daylight throughout the building enhances the energy efficiency of the structure.

The knuckle of the building houses the loading docks at ground level and research support on the second level. A special space in the southeast corner of the third floor is the Margolis Room, a private meeting room with wood ceiling tiles and cork floors. It opens onto a roof garden overlooking Braes Bayou.

The separation of the offices from the labs is novel for research facilities. The offices of principal researchers are typically located directly adjacent to their labs and remote from the offices of other investigators.

Castore explains that the bridges at the east and west ends of the atrium, linking the offices in the south wing to labs in the north, accommodate movement between the two domains. The clustering of offices provides the researchers access to each other and to their support staff. He notes: "A very important principle of the design is using the experience of passage from space to space to encourage and enable interaction and collaboration."

"The Sarofim Research Building is an environment that will stimulate and reinforce creativity, the foundation for research," says UT Health Science Center executive vice president for research Peter J. A. Davies, M.D., Ph.D. "I feel I speak for a generation of researchers to come, when I say that the concepts embedded in the building will bear fruit in the research that is achieved there."   >>>

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Fayez S. Sarofim Research Building, Houston, Texas, by BNIM Architects and Burt Hill. Image: BNIM Fountains grace the ground level between the two wings. Photo: Farshid Assassi Atrium surrounded by labs, offices, and circulation. Photo: Farshid Assassi View out to the west from the atrium. Photo: Farshid Assassi Circulation diagram. Image: BNIM Two-story auditorium. Photo: Farshid Assassi Lab space. Photo: Farshid Assassi   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.