Forging a connection

The Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM) was established at the University of Georgia in late 2012 with a mission to better understand the molecular and cellular basis of human disease and use this information to guide the development of new diagnostics, therapies, and cures. This new 44,000-square-foot facility, which connects to the adjacent Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC) with a complementary architectural expression, provides an expanded research platform and establishes a distinct identity for this synergistic program.

The new facility, which includes research labs for 10 PI's, eight research assistants and 74 lab techs, specialty core research facilities, shared support spaces, and private offices among other spaces, was designed to foster interdisciplinary research and encourage innovation and discovery. This was accomplished with the inclusion of a light-filled, vaulted-glass pavilion that provides the new "front door" for both centers and creates a collaboration hub, as well as the creation of collaboration zones that encourage engagement both within the CMM and between the CMM and CCRC. In addition to providing direct connections between the two centers that help facilitate, reinforce, and expand collaborative research missions, the pavilion includes a gallery that both centers can use to display research initiatives. The space also includes amenities that reinforce the social hub (a coffee and snack lounge, casual seating, and an outdoor collaboration garden), and serves as an intersection point that reinforces sharing of core research facilities, such as an NMR suite and other specialized research equipment.

Comprising three stories, the CMM includes flexible open laboratories with direct and continuous views through the office and tech areas to the exterior, a mix of open and private office spaces, and a variety of formal and informal meeting spaces. The open laboratories allow the CMM to easily flex research space between research grants and programs without the need to modify physical space. All meeting spaces, including a series of smaller ad-hoc rooms, formal conference rooms, and informal collaboration spaces all serve the needs of the entire complex and are fitted with audiovisual capabilities including demountable walls that are also writeable glass surfaces. All tech areas are located immediately adjacent to and within direct sight of the lab to support safe working environments and enhance degrees of connectivity between research groups.