Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation: 2020 Best of Year Winner for Biotech Office

The Lundquist Institute has been innovating in the field of medical science for more than six decades, from the first modern cholesterol test to phase three trials of a COVID-19 vaccine. It might come as a surprise that, until recently, such important research was done within deteriorating barracks dating to World War II.

Thanks to ZGF, the institute now has a facility as cutting-edge as the firm’s work. The four-story building is the centerpiece of a 10-acre campus, containing flexible, scalable laboratory and office facilities designed to incubate research groups of all sizes. Its facade is wrapped in vision glass, with a gently angled form to the structure that suggests forward movement.

Floor-to-ceiling glass can also be found inside, maintaining a line of sight between lab spaces and the outdoors, where a furnished slot garden at ground level provides access to nature. In the laboratories, wood-look flooring and painted metal casework alongside soft jewel-toned furnishings bring a homey comfort to spaces that are typically sterile. It’s an elevated aesthetic to suit the institute’s increasingly important mission.

Project Team: Braulio Baptista; Ted Hyman; James Woolum; Susan Oehme; Brett Meyer; Jenny Apostol; Antony Tavlian; Jenny Lee; Joel Rosenberg; Brian Maguire; Maggie Shamdasani.

> See the full list of winners and honorees from Best of Year 2020