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Carnegie Mellon University, Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences

Pennsylvania, USA

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) enlisted º£½ÇÊÓƵ to develop a design brief for CMU’s new Hall of Sciences – working with GBBN Architects during the feasibility stage and then ZGF Architects after they were selected to design the project.

Carnegie Mellon University has always been a place embodying the Spirit of Innovation. From the University’s inception in 1900, Andrew Carnegie’s vision was of an education that combined disciplines to propel new ways of thinking. Today that vision is embodied by the new Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences.

º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s advisory experts created a new model for allocating space by theme, rather than by discipline, enabling Carnegie Mellon to attract and retain top-tier researchers from the university and beyond to conduct innovative research in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment.

º£½ÇÊÓƵ worked with CMU to craft the vision, identify the goals, and develop the Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences space program.

We worked with stakeholders from three different Colleges to prioritize needs and align the vision, program, and budget.

º£½ÇÊÓƵ created a shared vision across a variety of disciplines and departments and helped CMU make big decisions early.

Challenge

The Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences will bring together faculty, students, and staff from the School of Computer Science, College of Science, and Miller Institute of Contemporary Art in a 325,000 ft² facility that will include galleries, a café, classrooms, study spaces, office space, teaching labs, wet and dry research labs, and shell space for flexible future expansion.

Solution

Together with GBBN architects, º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s strategy and operating model design team worked with CMU to craft the vision, identify the goals, and develop the space program while GBBN analyzed the site, zoning, and technical requirements and proposed massing and space planning to test the feasibility of different ways of organizing the program.

Our experts also looked beyond the walls at CMU to facilitate roundtables among peer institutions on key topics such as interdisciplinary research and contemporary art facilities. This iterative process worked with stakeholders from three different colleges to prioritize needs and align the vision, program, and budget. We created a flexible, population-based space forecast that helped CMU make big decisions about size, budget, and research themes.

The design brief was used to inform the selection of ZGF Architects to design the project through a collaborative selection process including a site visit, stakeholder workshops, and interview presentation. As the project proceeded into design, our experts translated the space forecast into a room-by-room, detailed program.

We refined and validated the initial program through a series of workshop, interviews, and discussions with key stakeholders and external consultants. This included validating initial assumptions about space standards, the relationship to the Cloud Lab (CMU’s off-site automated research facility), and sharing of spaces across academic units. It also included major revisions to account for changing economic climate and construction costs.

brightspot (now º£½ÇÊÓƵ) helped us build consensus across groups and make big decisions early – and then worked with us and adapted as the assumptions, building size, groups involved, and economy changed. They are great listeners and nimble partners.

Bob Reppe, Assistant Vice President and University Architect, Carnegie Mellon University

Value

º£½ÇÊÓƵ created a shared vision across a variety of disciplines and departments and helped CMU make big decisions early. We created a new model for allocating space by theme, rather than by discipline.

We developed the rationale and criteria for which researchers would move into the new building. All this comes together in a facility that will enable Carnegie Mellon to attract and retain top-tier researchers from the university and beyond to conduct innovative research in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment. Our deliverables will guide ZGF through concept design and construction.