Clark Center, Stanford University

The Clark Center continues the practice's investigations into the physical nature of the research environment, which began at Stanford University with the Center for Clinical Science Research (CCSR). The CCSR reflected changes that were beginning to take root in research methodology at the time and was designed to facilitate an inter-disciplinary approach and promote interaction between scientists. The Clark Center takes this formula a stage further, driven by the pioneering Bio-X programme, which has remodelled the landscape of science and technological research at Stanford.

Providing laboratory, office and social spaces for 700 academics from the Schools of Humanities and Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the Clarke Center is strategically located at the heart of the campus, between the core science and engineering buildings and the medical centre. It acts as a social magnet for the University, encouraging students, lecturers and researchers from diverse disciplines to mix. In striking contrast to the traditional laboratory facility with its closed rooms and corridors, the Clark Center is open and flexible: external balconies replace internal corridors and laboratory layouts can be reconfigured at will. All benches and desks are on wheels and can be moved to allow ad hoc team formation that can respond easily to fast-evolving research needs. This versatility is further enabled by workstations that plug into an overhead unistrut system of exposed services and flexible connections.

Externally, the three-storey building takes the form of three wings of laboratories, clad in rust-red painted steel and limestone to echo the tiled roofs and stone facades of Stanfords architectural vernacular, that frame an open courtyard overlooked by balconies. A forum at the heart of the courtyard is used for exhibitions, concerts and other events, while a restaurant on the ground floor of the south wing offers a new social focus for the entire campus with tables spilling out into the courtyard. A coffee bar on the third floor is located to encourage people to pass by the laboratory spaces, further distinguishing the building as a place in which social encounters and impromptu conversations are regarded as integral to scientific endeavour.

Client: Stanford University
Consultants: Middlebrook & Louie, Davis Langdon & Everest, Therma Engineers, Alfa Tech, Peter Walker & Partners, Claude Engle