PAYETTE’s body of work includes seminal projects in campus planning, lab planning and design. On many campuses, PAYETTE has elevated the role of science in ways that reconnect and repair campus fabric, as evidenced by an important body of projects that make science more visible and accessible. Over the last twenty years, we have been part of the transformation in interdisciplinary science buildings towards greater transparency and openness to optimize collaboration among faculty and students. We have contributed to the evolution in research that requires flexibility for buildings to accommodate ever-changing needs. And we have been an instrumental part of the reduction of energy and resource use in these highly intensive buildings, believing strongly that it is our responsibility to minimize their ecological footprint.
James Brassord, Chief of Campus Operations, Amherst College, 2018Campus architecture is about balance. Beyond the literal balance of building materials and structure, lies the balance of history and currency, of form and function, of budget and performance, and of process and efficiency. PAYETTE, in designing two of the most significant buildings on our campus, has demonstrated their unique ability to reconcile these sometimes competing factors and deliver bespoke buildings that will endure the test of time.
project spotlight
Lafayette College, Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center 77 kBtu/SF
A challenge of this project was how to create an appealing, dignified face to the campus through a very modest frontage on the existing brick quad. The building uses a restrained contemporary language to announce itself as an important destination at a formerly forgotten corner of the campus. Its strikingly crisp composition complements its more classical neighbors through scale, proportion, materiality and detailing. LEED Platinum Certified. Awards: AIA COTE Top Ten Green Projects 2021, AIA Education 2021, BSA Honor Award 2020, AIA/New England Honor Award 2020, BSA Sustainable Design Citation 2020, GBCA Educational 2020, ENR MidAtlantic Best Projects Award of Merit 2020
Amherst College, New Science Center 91 kBtu/SF
New, forward-looking building that fosters open learning for the campus community for the next 100 years, replacing an aging science center unable to accommodate today’s technologies and pedagogies. Includes research facilities and classrooms for computer science, astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics and psychology along with a science library. Awards: AIA COTE Top Ten Green Projects 2019, AIA Education Award of Merit 2020, SCUP Merit Award 2020, BSA Honor Award 2020, AIA/New England Honor Award 2019, IES Award of Merit 2020, BSA Sustainable Citation 2020, USGBC Green Building Showcase Innovation and People’s Choice 2019
Duke University, Grainger Hall: The Nicholas School of the Environment 56 kBtu/SF
Located within Duke’s main science precinct, Grainger Hall stands as a model for high performance campus architecture, embodying the principles of sustainability and interconnectedness that drive the Nicholas School of the Environment, a premier institution for the study of environmental science and policy. LEED Platinum Certified. Awards: SCUP Merit Award 2015, BSA Honor Award 2014, ASLA/NC Award 2015, ABC Construction Merit Award 2014.
Bridgewater State University, Dana Mohler-Faria Science and Mathematics Center 177 kBtu/SF
The new building gathers the sciences and math under one roof, providing opportunities for experiential learning and undergraduate research and fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration. Together with the existing library and campus center, it forms a new quadrangle, redefining a once ragged campus edge. LEED Silver Certified. Awards: SCUP Architecture Award 2014, AIA/New England, Honorable Mention 2014, BSA Citation for Design Excellence 2013.
Princeton University, Frick Chemistry Laboratory
Princeton’s new Frick Chemistry Laboratory moves the entire Department of Chemistry at Princeton from the nation’s oldest chemistry laboratory to a new state-of-the-science facility. Awards: R&D Magazine Lab of the Year High Honors 2012, SCUP Merit Award 2012, BSA Honor Award 2011, AIA/New Jersey Merit Award 2011, AIA/Tri-State Honor Award 2011.
University of Massachusetts Amherst, Integrated Sciences Building
As the keystone in a new life sciences program at UMass Amherst, the Integrated Sciences Building (ISB) located at a juncture between academic and residential precincts, creates a new pulse on this campus of 26,000. Awards: BSA Merit Award 2010, BSA Higher Ed 2011, AIA/New England Merit Award 2009.
