March 2, 2006

Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Buildings expand possibilities

Two newly dedicated buildings are significantly expanding ASU's interdisciplinary research capabilities, providing state-of-the-art facilities for work that promises a strong boost for the university's stature as a major research institution.

Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Buildings 1 and 2 on the Tempe campus provide laboratories for a broad range of pursuits aimed at moving into the forefronts of engineering, physical sciences and life sciences.

"Our commitment to advancing scientific research is driving the need for a variety of high-quality facilities,'' says ASU President Michael Crow. "These buildings offer well-equipped and readily adaptable facilities necessary to undertake a wide spectrum of ever-changing

short-term and long-term research endeavors."

The Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are basing several projects, programs and centers in the buildings.

The $74 million, four-story ISTB 1 encompasses 180,000 square feet, containing 34 laboratory suites, 74 laboratory modules and office space.

Two of ASU's newest research centers - the Center for Metabolic Biology, and the Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity - will be housed there, along with the social insect research group, the neural science and engineering group, and the cell and tissue engineering group.

The Magnetic Resonance Research Facility, which is widely used in chemical studies, also will be located in the complex.

Soil dynamics, environmental fluid dynamics (River Dynamics Laboratory), and thermodynamics and combustion research labs occupy the $18 million, two-story, 66,000-square-foot ISTB 2, along with geology and hydraulics, structures testing, transportation planning and advanced pavement research groups, as well as the Sustainable Materials and Renewable Technology group (SMART).

Both buildings have been constructed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards of the U.S. Green Building Council. The standards are based on the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability features achieved by building design and construction.

The Biodesign Institute was named the 2006 Laboratory of the Year by R&D Magazine, while ISTB 2 was recognized in Southwest Contractor magazine's "Best of 2005" green-building projects, and last week won "High Honors" in R&D Magazine's Laboratory of the Year awards competition. The competition includes industrial, government and academic labs worldwide.

"High Honors" are given to a laboratory meeting all of the criteria to be Laboratory of the Year, but maybe not getting all the way there, says Tim Studt, editor in chief of R&D Magazine.

"Everything about ISTB 2 is remarkable," Studt says. "There is extremely good vision and execution of how to build a lab within the criteria given. ISTB 2 is LEED certified and very cost-effective. It is a laboratory that fits the design of the building into the environment of the Phoenix metropolitan area, and accommodates a variety of laboratory requirements ranging from fluid dynamics labs to structural labs."

ISTB 2's architecture exhibits a particularly striking unification of form and function, blending the utilitarian elements of a high-tech industrial structure with a sense of art-gallery aesthetics.

Six large overhead fans and a misting system provide an evaporative cooling system that helps create a comfortable microclimate in the building. At the same time, the movement of the fans accentuates a feeling of activity and energy within the 280-foot-long, linear shaded courtyard that forms the indoor-outdoor "spine" of the building.

Partitions between lab spaces are temporary, so they can be relocated within the building to meet any requirements necessary for new and evolving research projects. The width of the central court also permits forklift traffic to access roll-up doors within the building's interior.

A series of lofts and bays that function as meeting rooms and study lounges are perched along the building's mezzanine level in a fashion that gives the facility a stylistic uniformity and a sculptural abstractness.

It all serves the practical purposes of creating an "open-lab environment" that promotes interaction and a sense of collaborative effort, according to senior building project manager Mohammad Madjidi.

ISTB 1 also sports a flexible design to promote teamwork, and lab spaces can be adjusted to respond to each project's needs and accommodate new research equipment with only minor modifications, says Richard Martorano, facilities project manager for the Fulton School. More importantly, the two buildings provide critical room to grow for the many new and blossoming ASU research programs and centers.

The buildings "accommodate our expanding interdisciplinary research portfolio," says Jonathan Fink, vice president for Research and Economic Affairs.

"ASU has a growing reputation and record of accomplishment for its innovative approach to research at the intersections of science, technology, fine arts, policy and humanities," he says. "ISTB 1 and 2 are designed to promote these interdisciplinary explorations, by offering first-class facilities with open architecture that fosters collaborations."

Construction of ISTB 1 and 2 were put on a fast track largely to meet the needs for more work space for new faculty members who have been arriving at ASU - and bringing their high-profile research projects along with them. The buildings went from initial concept stages to opening in about two years.

"The pace of funding growth has been accelerating, requiring us to bring more research space online quickly," Fink says. "The political campaign led by the construction and development communities that resulted in the passage in 2003 of the Research Infrastructure Bill by the Arizona Legislature allowed us to speed up our attempts to remedy long-standing shortages of research space."

The new labs help the university to recruit more "star" faculty members and their research groups, which then bring in more resources to support continued expansion of facilities, Fink says.

"We're in the midst of a cycle of successful recruiting, which leads to funding growth and construction of additional buildings, which in turn lets us bring in more faculty members," he says. "The ultimate beneficiaries are the people of Arizona, who gain from the biotechnology and environmental technology research programs housed in these buildings, and ASU students, who can participate in cutting-edge research."