The more successful buildings by Rafael Viñoly, FAIA, display distinct athletic gestures—from the smoothly arcing roof of the 1994 Lehman College Physical Education Facility in New York to the exuberant, glass-barrel-vaulted roof of the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts in Philadelphia. With the newly completed Janelia Farm Research Campus outside Leesberg, Virginia, however, Viñoly has exchanged such feats of bravura for a subtler move—that of merging a 947-foot-long, 280-foot deep, curvilinear building with the earth. By deftly inserting a three-tiered, terraced structure into the gentle slope of a hill to serve as a research center for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the Uruguayan-born, New York–based architect has created a dramatically deferential work of architecture. Although the planting needs about five more years before hard edges of the building begin to be softened by the landscape, the concept is already compelling.
The gently serpentine building is composed of three floors embedded in and terraced down a slope to the tributary. Two skylighted staircases divide it into thirds and help give a sense of orientation to the occupants. The lowest level, defined on the exterior by curved fieldstone walls, opens into a lobby leading to the auditorium, large seminar room, as well as dining room, pub, and other communal facilities. Throughout, square, glassed-in atriums bring additional daylight inside. On the second and third floors, labs overlook glazed corridors, which in turn reveal views of roof gardens and the distant landscape. Along these two tiers of roof terraces, the architects situated offices clustered in square glass pods, where computer research and meetings could occur near the actual laboratories themselves. The poured-in-place concrete and steel hybrid structure for the “landscape building,” as it is called, gives way to structural glass extending along the serpentine corridors that separate the labs from the offices and grassy terraces. Glass beams, columns, and walls of low-E clear glass allow the scientists unimpeded glimpses of pastoral landscape for dazzling, 88-foot-long spans.
PeopleOwner Owner’s representative: Project Manager: Architect: Rafael Vinoly FAIA Jay Bargmann AIA Sami M. BaSuhail AIA, Charles Clements AIA, and Bob Steel RIBA Charles Blomburg AIA Anjanette Green Interior designer: Engineer(s): Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire protection: Civil Engineer: Landscape Architect: Consultant(s) Lighting: Acoustical, Vibration, Telecom/Data, Security, Audio Visual Other: Code Consultant: Food Service Consultant: Green Roof Consultant: Specifications: Construction Manager: Photographer(s) Brad Feinknopf Renderer: CAD system, project management, or other software used:
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ProductsStructural system Cast-in-place post-tensioned reinforced concrete in the parking garage. Structural glass, glass curtainwall and stainless steel framed enclosure system Exterior cladding Stainless Steel/Glass Curtainwall: Concrete: Wood: Roofing Other: Glazing Glass: Skylights: Ornamental Metal: Doors Entrances: Wood doors: Sliding doors: Hardware Locksets: Hinges: Closers: Exit devices: Pulls: Cabinet hardware: Interior finishes Acoustical ceilings: Stretched Fabric ceilings by Novawall Suspension grid: Bosch heavy duty 2 ½” extruded aluminum ceiling grid with custom cast and machined intersections. Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Custom wood millwork and casework by Rafael Viñoly Architects, manufactured by Jefferson Millwork & Design Inc., Sterling, VA. Paints and stains: Wallcoverings: Paneling: Special surfacing: Floor and wall tile: Daltile Rittenhouse Square 3”x6” on Kitchen and Restroom walls. 12”x12” Black porcelain tile by Innovative Marble on restroom floors Resilient flooring: Sheet goods by Mannington. Carpet: Raised flooring: Wood Flooring: Furnishings Office furniture: Reception furniture: Fixed seating: Chairs: Tables: Upholstery: Lobby area, downstairs hotel rooms, apartments: Omnia Upstairs hotel rooms, some pod soft seating and throughout administrative areas: Montis Pod soft seating areas and administrative area: Arflex Group leader offices and administrative offices: Brayton Hotel & Apartments: Interiors International, Omnia & Montis Dining Rooms chairs: David Edward & Frag Lighting Interior ambient lighting: Controls: Conveyance Elevators/Escalators: Plumbing Sloane solar powered infrared lavatory faucets Custom Designed Laboratory service bollard system and modular Laboratory casework designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, developed and manufactured by Lab Crafters, Ronkonkoma, NY. |
