Aspiration & Achievement
To promote transdisciplinary innovation, demonstrate how to build responsibly in a tsunami inundation zone, and support the greater community.
RECOGNITION
2023 ASCE Coasts, Oceans, Ports & Rivers Institute (COPRI), Project Excellence Award, Large Project Category
2021 Learning by Design, Outstanding Project
“This team worked through a variety of fiscal and engineering challenges imposed by the university and unique building location and mission. As the client, I was super impressed with the level of knowledge, attention to detail, and the clear notion that they had our best interest in mind. This building is both functionally and esthetically world class and the design and construction team are front and center in delivering it.”
Robert Cowen
Director, Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center
PROJECT DETAILS
The research and academic building on the coastal Hatfield Marine Science Center campus supports a vibrant learning community with labs, classroom, and conference facilities. Transdisciplinary collaboration and innovation give students the opportunity to grow in leadership, education, and workforce preparation. It uniquely represents the university’s provocative determination to preserve an essential coastal campus for pioneering marine research and experiential education activities in a tsunami zone by enhancing safety with a rooftop vertical evacuation site.
A three-story academic and research building includes an auditorium to host scientific programs and community events. A variety of state-of-the-art labs support the transdisciplinary research and teaching model. Colors, textures, and materiality throughout the building evoke the region’s culture, history, and coastal industries.
A feat of planning, engineering, and innovation, the LEED Silver equivalent building supports OSU’s ongoing leadership in coastal resilience, public safety, and marine policy. Demonstrating responsible building in tsunami inundation zones, the building is one of the first vertical evacuation tsunami sites in the U.S. A ramp outside the building leads from ground level to the roof, serving as an emergency assembly area to accommodate more than 900 people from the campus and general community.
