The new Advanced Biological Sciences building which is part of the University of North Florida has been inaugurated formally.
The building was designed Perkins+Will in partnership with Harvard Jolly. The building covers an area of 117,000 sq.ft and comprises of two levels. This facility will house all the six specialised educational programs of the University including the Coastal Biology Flagship Program. It contains 17 teaching labs and 28 faculty research labs along with advanced conference rooms, classrooms and lecture halls.
The building has been designed to achieve LEED Gold standards. Various architectural designs have been incorporated into the campus such as an interior courtyard called Darwin’s Garden. A separate Tree of Life has been featured on the glass outside the conference room. This design talks about life on the planet and extends to three more stories above. The façade of the building features key words taken from the biological sciences statement such as “life”, “research” and “teaching” which have been embossed through pre-cast concrete. The roof of the building contains an advanced greenhouse. In terms of energy conservation, the building has been designed to achieve 30% reduction in water consumption and 20% reduction in energy consumption. It uses intelligent lighting controls and occupancy sensors to regulate the levels of CO2 and general air quality. The building can store about 6,000 gal of water for teaching labs and aquatic research purposes. The water is supplied by marine mammal park Marineland.
The design and the material used for construction are in alignment with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences facility that is located adjacent and landscaping of the building was done in collaboration of the groundskeepers and biology staff of the University.
Source: http://www.perkinswill.com