The CNS Research & Education Greenhouse is a state-of-the-art facility that consolidates the University’s botany research and teaching. Both a greenhouse and a research laboratory, it sits at the edge of a cluster of laboratories housing the Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, connecting the campus to the surrounding rural landscape.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
CNS Research & Education Greenhouse
Project Statistics
LOCATION
Amherst, MA / United States
COMPLETED
2011
TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE
16,000 GSF New
4,500 GSF Renovation
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences (Botany)
LEED STATUS
LEED-NC 3 Gold Certified
AWARDS
IN THE NEWS
Team
Robert J. Schaeffner, FAIA, LEED AP
Principal-in-Charge
Nicholas LaVita, AIA, LEED AP
Project Manager / Architect
PROJECT EUI
Modern Reinterpretation
A complex research and teaching facility, the laboratory contains two research labs, a wet/dry classroom for botany instruction and a core facility for seed germination. To give it shape, we drew inspiration from the historic barns of western Massachusetts, marrying the agrarian character of the University’s roots with the spirit of cutting-edge research.
The research greenhouses share the lab’s simple, gabled form and provide an open, flexible environment for introductory botany instruction and plant experimentation. Custom-fabricated to meet the needs of University researchers, they are complex, living machines. Their sophisticated, automated systems control natural and artificial lighting, temperature, humidity, irrigation and fertilization, maximizing research capabilities.
Throughout, the laboratory and greenhouses share high, pitched ceilings, concrete floors and exposed mechanical systems. The design embraces a raw simplicity of detail and finish, eschewing paints, stains, trim and applied finishes in favor of the beauty of materials in their natural state.
Photography: © Warren Jagger Photography
