Oregon City Applied Research Incubator, Inc.: Architectural Concept Art for Oregon City Applied Research Incubator, Inc.


1st floor plans

Today, I thought I'd share some of my architectural concept art for Oregon City Applied Research Incubator facilities and guiding principles behind the design.

While form follows function, aesthetics is also important

It would be very easy to design a laboratory building that was very boxy and unattractive. In fact, I found it difficult to avoid a boxy design, largely due to a desire to minimize the building's square footage, footprint, and cost while maximizing the functionality of labspace. I did manage to include some exterior design features that break-up the boxiness and hopefully add an aesthetic component. I would like to see more aesthetic features, as I feel working in attractive building makes for a nicer day, but what I've drawn conveys my basic concepts for the project.

Accessibility

I have always been troubled by the fact that in multistoried buildings the only emergency exits are by stairs, which means anyone in a wheelchair must be carried out in an emergency. Disliking that, I've designed a building where all the floors are wheelchair accessible without using an elevator. One on end of the building, there are bridges connecting the 2nd and 3rd floors to the parking garage. At the other, there are a series of decks connected by ramps, those decks also serve as rooftop gardens and an attractive outdoor space. This design feature exceeds code requirements.

Green Design

The buildings were designed to minimize environmental impact, include solar energy systems, and combat urban sprawl.

2nd floor plans

Although a parking lot costs less to construct than a parking garage, a parking garage has a much smaller footprint which reduces environmental impact in several ways: a smaller surface area exposed to direct sunlight means less environmental heating (parking lots get hot on sunny days), reduced water runoff during rain (an acre of parking lot produces 2715 gallons of runoff per 1" of rain), and by allowing more land to be set aside as greenspace or higher density building (less urban sprawl). As drawn, the parking garage has a 0.5 acre footprint with a 250 car capacity. For contrast, a 250 car capacity parking lot would have at least a 1.5 acre footprint.

The incubator was designed to be 3 stories, to build taller would require a change to the campus industrial zoning code in Oregon City. The building is about 47,000 sf with a 0.4 acre footprint. Besides being aesthetically pleasing, the inclusion of rooftop gardens helps keep the building cool and reduce runoff.

In the drawings, the site is about 4 acres and when one factors in the required set backs the combination of parking garage and multistory incubator leaves enough space for another building with ample greenspace.

Although not obvious in the drawings, the intent is to use Solar Roadway tiles on the roofs, top floor of the parking garage, and for walkways. Even in Oregon, this should make the project a net producer of electricity. I would also like to include evacuated-tube solar heating for hot water and AC, however this may not be practical for this project.


3rd floor plan

Parking garage with some landscaping

The lab suites

The chemistry suites include four 8' fumehoods, an enclosed safety shower with drain, and ample built-in cabinetry/benches. There is enough room for 8 chemists, though 4 would be normal. The small enclosed space next to the safety shower is for duct work. There are 6 chemistry suites on both the 2nd and 3rd floors.

The biology suites include a 4' fumehood, an enclosed safety shower, and mobile cabinetry/benches (not shown) for maximum flexibility. There are 6 biology suites on both the 2nd and 3rd floors.

A view of a chemistry suite (right) and biology suite (left)

A view of a chemistry suite (back) and biology suite (front)

The communal labs

The chemistry communal labs, one on each of the 2nd and 3rd floors, include eight 8' fumehoods, an enclosed safety shower, and ample benches. These rooms are designed for 16 chemists (2 per hood) and will house many of the chemistry instruments.

The biology communal labs, one on each of the 2nd and 3rd floors, include a 6' fumehoods, an enclosed safety shower, and ample benches. These rooms are designed for 16 biology and will house much of the biology equipment.