The Biomedical Innovations Building (BMI) at Stanford University’s School of Medicine provides a world-class space for medical research. The planning for the building combines best practices in laboratory design with a cutting-edge approach to collaborative science, creating a new research home for multidisciplinary occupants that will include engineers, scientists, and physicians. These occupants from a synergistic mix of disciplines will work together to move biomedical research into clinical practice within an environment that balances innovation, safety and efficiency.

The Biomedical Innovations Building is located along Pasteur Drive, just steps from both the medical school’s research buildings and the new Stanford Hospital. The architecture itself acts as bridging presence on campus with an exterior façade that connects to the current campus design vernacular and reflects the regional architectural vision, while an innovative approach to the curtainwall evolves the School of Medicine’s architectural vocabulary in new ways. The building form is punctuated by a curtain wall pattern that becomes smaller and tighter at the west and east ends of the building where sun exposure is greatest, allowing designers to solve for glare control.

The innovative “arcade” approach on the exterior reflects interior programming. Inside, 27 lab units spread over five levels – four stories above-grade and one full lower level – are organized to enhance connection and circulation. Offices are located around the edges of the building with labs in the center, encouraging collisions and interaction at the heart of the building. Rather than a single central atrium or two isolated collaboration hubs, the building creates a series of nodes distributed across floors with distinct color palettes. The nodes are bookended with lounges and outdoor terraces at the edges of the building. Communicating stairs, transparency via glass that puts science on display, and vertical connections encourages interaction between the floors.

In addition to creating a new gateway for the School of Medicine, BMI completes an existing research “quad” and provides a new outdoor plaza space where four different building porches meet. It creates a focused and intimate space where scientists from different areas and disciplines can gather to socialize and exchange ideas outside of the laboratory.

See more of the Biomedical Innovations Building with a virtual tour.