The Vision
As we approach the new millennium, some of the most significant challenges of a rapidly changing society will emerge from the areas of science, engineering, and technology. New discoveries and technological innovations will alter our world in ways that will call upon educated citizens who can contribute to and interpret scientific advances and consider their consequences for our society. Lawrence's natural science programs, embedded in the traditional liberal arts curriculum, prepare all Lawrence students to participate fully and knowledgeably in a world where scientific issues will be increasingly important to every citizen.
As we enter the new century, Lawrence's vision for the natural sciences calls for continued expansion of inquiry-based approaches to learning throughout all levels of the curriculum. Committed to the principle that students learn science by doing science, we will expand opportunities for students to engage in research activities and continue to promote a curriculum and culture in which teaching and research are inextricably intertwined. We will also continue to exploit cross- and inter-disciplinary connections among science disciplines to mirror the way in which scientists are investigating problems. Finally, we will improve scientific proficiency and literacy among all students, so that they will understand--through hands-on exposure to the scientific method--the role of science in their lives and in our society.
The Need
Lawrence's natural science programs have emerged as ones of strength and distinction over the past several decades. Several factors contribute to this success: a strong and dedicated faculty who are active as researchers and committed to involving their students in research activities; curious, creative, and capable students; curricular innovations that reflect the changing contours of science; and laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art scientific and computing equipment.
At the same time, these strengths have provoked the need for additional and different kinds of spaces to support our programs. Science today is taught and conducted much differently than it was thirty years ago. Students are not passive learners, but active participants in the scientific process already at the introductory level. These changes require different kinds of spaces, ones that support and promote discovery-based learning. Long lab benches where students worked in isolation from each other need to be replaced with modules allowing students and faculty to work collaboratively in small groups. The increase in cross- and inter-disciplinary investigations, such as molecular studies and environmental studies, calls for spaces that promote these interconnections.
The majority of Lawrence's natural science programs are housed in Youngchild Hall, a 68,000 square-foot building constructed in 1964. Stephenson Hall, built at the turn of the century, housed additional laboratory and classroom space for these areas and also accommodated our programs in mathematics/computer science and some social science disciplines. Youngchild Hall continues to serve our programs well, though careful study and planning revealed that additional space is needed to advance our ambitions in these areas. To meet our needs for additional program space for the natural sciences, the social sciences, and mathematics, Lawrence has embarked on a three-phase construction and renovation plan. The first phase, completed in the fall of 1997, was the construction of Lucia R. Briggs Hall. This facility is the new home for Lawrence's programs in mathematics/computer science, anthropology, psychology, government, and economics. We have now embarked on the second phase of this plan, the construction of a new natural science facility on the site formerly occupied by Stephenson Hall.
As of August 9, 1999, approximately $10.5 million has been received in gifts and commitments for this $18.1 million project.
The Plan
Lawrence is constructing a new 72,000-square foot science facility adjacent to Youngchild Hall to serve as the new home for the chemistry department, as well as portions of biology and physics. Designed by Ellenzweig Associates, Inc., of Cambridge, Massachusetts, the concept for the new building emerged from several years of planning and study among the faculty, administration, and Board of Trustees. The site for the new building was selected on the basis of recommendations made by Sasaki Associates, an architectural firm specializing in college and university campus planning. Sasaki urged us to take better advantage of our location along the Fox River and to preserve the integrity of the Main Hall green as the focal point in a "necklace" of Lawrence's academic buildings.
Locate the site by viewing a campus map
The new four-level building will be connected to Youngchild Hall by a glass atrium that will provide both a central gathering area for students and faculty in the sciences as well as a much-needed community space for the campus as a whole. The three-story atrium will be not only the main entrance to the new building but will serve as a crossroads for the campus, particularly for access from the Main Hall plaza to Youngchild Hall and the new science building, as well as an entry way to Lucia R. Briggs Hall and the riverbank walkways.
The basement level will feature two advanced research laboratories in physics, where students will conduct a variety of new and enhanced experiments in solid state physics and liquid crystal phase transitions. It will also include an x-ray laboratory, where students from all of the sciences will learn the principles of x-ray diffraction. The ground floor will contain a large, 86-seat lecture hall, laboratory and support spaces for courses in general and analytical chemistry, and three computing laboratories that will be used by several departments.
The first floor houses spaces for intermediate- and advanced-level chemistry courses, including organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, physical chemistry, and instrumental analysis. Finally, the second floor of the building will be devoted to research and teaching laboratories for courses in introductory biology, microbiology, developmental biology, genetics, animal physiology, animal behavior, and endocrinology.
In designing the new facility, faculty were conscious of the need to plan not only for current needs but also for the needs of a constantly evolving science curriculum. Research labs are modular in design, providing adaptability and flexibility as needs change over the years, and opening up new opportunities for collaboration. Improving laboratory support spaces in ways that give students greater hands-on access to major instrumentation, much of which has been acquired through faculty-sponsored grants from the National Science Foundation, was also a prominent factor in our planning. Areas like the electron microscope suite and the radiation lab, for example, are designed to accommodate small groups of students or an entire class. Currently, much of this instrumentation is housed in overcrowded, cramped spaces, making it inaccessible to large numbers of students and difficult to utilize as instructional spaces. Also, as more and more instrumentation is computer-driven, the increasingly critical role that technology will play in a new era of science education at Lawrence guided our planning for this building. Visible gestures to technology are found in virtually every space in the new building.
One of the most distinctive features of the new building is the generous space allocated for informal student interaction. According to Ellenzweig Associates' principal architect, Lawrence's science building sets a "new standard" among undergraduate science facilities in the amount of space devoted to students. Each level of the building contains areas--lounges, offices, seminar rooms--specifically dedicated for students working independently or in small groups. We anticipate that these areas will help greatly in fostering departmental and inter-departmental cohesiveness and an overall culture of science at Lawrence.
