The Chemistry Building for Colorado State University (CSU) is a new 61,578 gsf laboratory building. The labs are for synthetic chemistry research and include organic, inorganic and biosynthesis disciplines. The building includes four laboratory floors plus a mechanical penthouse. The building program spaces house open labs, lab support rooms, lab cores, offices for faculty and graduate researchers, and collaboration space.

Several guiding principles were developed early on to help inform the decision making, resulting in a streamlined, efficient, and simple design that meets the research needs of today and the future:

• Create open, flexible labs that can adapt to various size research groups.
• Make the student researcher space feel open and daylit, while being directly adjacent to the labs.
• Create a building that ties into the CSU campus vernacular.
• Design the mechanical systems to support up to 115 researchers in synthetic organic, synthetic inorganic, and bio-synthetic chemistry.

Sustainable design features for the Chemistry Building include:

• Utilization of CSU central plant for efficiencies
• Integration of a high performance heat recovery system
• Strong daylighting and views to occupied spaces
• Utilization of a process chilled water loop to reduce water consumption
• Treatment of storm water in an on-site rain garden

The Chemistry Building is adjacent to CSU’s new Biology building, which HCM designed and which was delivered through a design-build contract the same month as the Chemistry Building. The two buildings create a new science core for the Fort Collins campus.

Designed in collaboration with RATIO Architects.

Certified LEED NC 2009 – Platinum