PAYETTE Projects on YouTube

The University of Massachusetts has an excellent YouTube channel promoting academics and life on campus. One of their playlists features “Academics and Research” activities at UMass. Several of the videos feature recent PAYETTE projects, including the CNS Research and Education Greenhouse and the Integrated Sciences Building. Check out these videos to see the impact our buildings are having on UMass students and scientists:

RESEARCH + GREENHOUSE

The UMass CNS Research and Education Greenhouse is a state of the art facility for botany research and instruction. It is both a greenhouse and a fully functioning research laboratory. The form, shape, and character of the Greenhouse express the rich interaction between the modern University campus and the deep, historical context of its agricultural surroundings. In essence, the Greenhouse is a modern reinterpretation of the New England barn.

“These state-of-the-art greenhouses enhance the college’s research, teaching, and extension endeavors. The sophisticated design is as beautiful as it is energy efficient, [and] provides a sustainable infrastructure to facilitate plant growth. The new laboratory and classroom spaces are housed in the same structure, [providing] a one-stop-shopping space for learning and experimentation.” – Steve Goodwin, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

INTEGRATED SCIENCE

The UMass Integrated Sciences Building (ISB) initiated a dramatic transformation of UMass’s science facilities from anonymous, isolating and inhospitable environments to welcoming, sustainable and pleasing environments. The ISB fosters interdisciplinary collaboration between students and faculty in the chemical, biological, and veterinary sciences. The heart of the ISB is a dramatic four-story atrium that runs along the entire southern edge of the classroom wing, providing a variety of collaboration spaces at each level. The concourse’s enormous south facing window creates a showcase of science to the campus beyond.

“The Integrated Science Building … captures the goals articulated by many faculty members over several years of planning: We wanted a building that fostered interaction among different traditional physical and life sciences disciplines, invited collaboration, inspired student interest, offered the best science teaching spaces possible, and retained warmth and beauty while doing all of this. The PAYETTE design accomplished this and more. The wonderful window wall, the inviting staircases, the fluidity of travel from one space to another, the fun and appealing informal interaction spaces all combine to create a place where students interact comfortably and where state-of-the-art science teaching is encouraged.“ – Lila Gierasch, distinguished professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.