Bringing graduate research programs together to provide more opportunities for collaboration, recruitment, and retention

Texas Woman’s University - Science Research Commons Design

Texas Woman’s University wanted to create a new research laboratory building that would bring together graduate research space for their biology, chemistry, nutrition and food science, and psychology programs under one roof. They reached out to our designers to help.

Our design focused on not only equipment and resources, but also providing ample opportunities for collaboration through the facility. The building features open wet labs, a variety of lab support spaces, a lower-level vivarium and microscopy suite, faculty offices, and graduate student workspace. For collaboration spaces, it offers formal huddle rooms, conference spaces, and informal spaces, surrounded by full-height writable surfaces. Our primary design goal was to incorporate transparency between spaces, which we achieved by providing full height glass walls for occupants to see in and out of all areas of the building.

Sitting in the center of Texas Woman’s University’s historic Georgian campus, the four-story Science Research Commons balances a historically focused exterior with a modern interior that aligns with its scientific function.