Bowdoin College

Narratives

Architect Narrative

An exemplary model for making learning and individualized development a positive experience, the design of this three-story, 26,000 s.f. new academic building enhances and celebrates connectivity and different aspects and styles of learning. Making learning visible to the campus, the design establishes strong indoor and outdoor relationships through warm spaces flooded with natural light, preservation of mature pine trees, and brick and glass massing that expresses the activities of the varied programs it houses.

Providing much-needed teaching and research space for Psychology, the facility supports the growing program in neuroscience, cognition, development processes and social interaction. In addition to classroom, laboratory, and faculty research rooms, the building forms new synergies with other programs on campus that had space needs, including a Learning Center for tutoring the writing project and quantitative skills center; home-base cluster for the education department; computer lab; and additional classroom space. Shared classroom and seminar spaces as well as library, lounge and meeting areas foster connectivity and interaction among programs.

New neuroscience and observation labs, lobbies and social lounges support flexibility and connectivity within the upper floors. The concentration of community spaces on the glass-enclosed first floor, with entrances on all four sides, replaces previous stigma of remedial skills support with a positive, accessible campus experience, physically and philosophically recognizing individual learning styles.

The facility is a contemporary, forward-looking building comfortably set within its historic campus as if it “has always been there.” The facility takes advantage of existing active student circulation paths, completing the corner of the internal science quad while facing a landscaped park of pines that anchor the corner of the main campus. New shade trees and small patios that form “outdoor classrooms” at all entries incorporate low brick walls to define edges for seating. Sustainable design includes erosion and sedimentation control, water efficiency, energy control, management of materials and resources, and environmental quality standards.

The siting, massing and design juxtaposes brick and glass, stability and transparency, indoor and outdoor spaces to physically embody the varied programs and establish strong visual connections with the campus.

The main mass is based upon the rectilinear brick vocabulary of campus, housing psychology with varying needs for privacy on the upper floors. Breaking this axis of the “brick grid” on the first floor, the design adds transparency, richness, and texture through a creative undercutting of the entries, framing the open space of the quad and the park, and presenting activities of learning, skills, and computer lab as an active transparency facing the public. The undercut first floor is enclosed by a prominent use of glass with a unique custom-patina metal panel, giving it the sense of transition and transparency which has eroded the upper brick mass.

This formal concept of “traditional brick meeting fluid community spaces” is a sophisticated response to the mix of programs and educational concepts in the building. The energetic activity of the first floor is visible upon approach from the quad, while upper floors present a stable, brick countenance friendly to the campus.

Educator Narrative

The design of this new building meets a complicated and diverse set of individual and department needs in exciting and appropriate ways. The layout provides individual space while also incorporating opportunities for interaction. Learning is enhanced through flexible, functional and effective space that accommodates a variety of teaching styles and changes in pedagogy over time.

The facility responds to dire needs for teaching and research space for psychology with the inclusion of neuroscience labs, behavioral research labs, teaching labs, and offices. To meet the needs of other college programs and facilitate interactions between psychology and these programs, the design incorporated a large classroom, computer lab, a home for the teaching and learning center, and space for the education department. The design process of coordinating these varied programs was stimulating and addressed issues such as layout, traffic flow, and the varied concentration of people in different areas of the building.

Open spaces and classrooms are conducive to interaction and social gatherings. The design addressed this by creating seating areas in the upstairs lobbies, and classrooms of various sizes (i.e., a 48 seat lecture room, a seminar room, and a computer classroom.) In the fall, the department used the outdoor patio off the main classroom for a barbeque to welcome student majors back to campus. The third floor waiting room, a beautiful space on the corner of the building, is being used as a meeting room for different campus groups effectively bringing others up to the third floor. Students meet and study in the comfortable and spacious lobby areas. Two labs are particularly interesting for their flexibility to accommodate a variety of activities. The computer lab is available for student use 24 hours a day. This same room serves as an electronic classroom with flexible seating options (i.e., traditional straight seating for lectures or small round tables for group discussions.) The observation labs for behavioral research have a control room large enough to accommodate a class with three testing rooms on either side. This space allows the opportunity for students to observe the research process in an unobtrusive way.

The building has been designed to fit comfortably on an open corner of campus. Although the building is new, it looks as if it has always been in this location. The architects were careful to design the building and to select construction materials that complement existing structures on campus. The building placement resulted in the preservation of a number of mature trees. While the building blends in with the campus, the design also provides excitement. The oblique form and use of glass on the first floor for the teaching and learning center brings drama and surprise. People in this center enjoy ample light and spaciousness conducive to working. Approaching from campus, the activity and energy of the work being done is visible and hints at what is going on in other areas of the building.

The design and construction of this new building contributes admirably to the interior needs of faculty and students and the exterior demands of campus aesthetics.