Last modified: Wednesday, September 18, 2002
Trustees approve site for Multidisciplinary Science Building
The Indiana University Board of Trustees voted 7 to 1 Wednesday (Sept. 18) in favor of proceeding with planning a new science building between Myers Hall and the Chemistry Building. The new building, the first of a three-phase science building expansion project, is intended to further strengthen IU's multidisciplinary science presence.
The 80,000-square-foot Phase I Multidisciplinary Science Building will provide much-needed laboratory space for the Gill Center of Biomolecular Measurement as well as proteomics, biochemical, and other research spanning multiple traditional scientific fields.
The design of Phase I was presented to the trustees during a public meeting in Brown County State Park by University Architect Robert Meadows and John Belle of the New York City-based architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle, which helped renovate Grand Central Station, Ellis Island, and has been tasked with redesigning the World Trade Center site.
In accordance with IU's long-term goal of preserving the beauty and open space of the campus, Belle's design has a small footprint and only minimally disrupts the wooded areas west of Ballantine Hall and southeast of the Chemistry Building.
"This new building will allow us to address what is one of our most pressing Bloomington campus needs -- additional research laboratory space. It is a clear indication of our continued strong commitment to the life sciences on our Bloomington campus. I was pleased to see such strong and unified faculty support for this project," said IU President Myles Brand.
Construction of the new building has not yet been assigned a start date. While several annexes or additions to science buildings have been completed on the Bloomington campus in recent decades, Phase I will be the first IU Bloomington building solely devoted to scientific research since the completion of the Geology Building in 1962.
