The new $55 million, six storey La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science (LIMS) building in Melbourne designed by Lyons, is set to 'transform the way in which teaching and research buildings are designed' according to engineering firm who worked on the project, Norman Disney Young.

The new facility is approximately 2700 square metres of learning space which includes wet and dry labs on the lower three levels, and 18 research labs on the upper floors.

The building is one of the first to achieve formal certification for a 5 Star Greenstar (Design) rating, using the Education Tool.

Emmanuelle Delomenede, sustainability consultant for Norman Disney & Young said:

"Sustainability was certainly a paramount consideration on this project and it was part of the brief for all consultants to design a sustainable building. This project was actually the first national university project to be delivered and designed with specific environmental credentials."

The building is one of 112 projects shortlisted in the Australian Institute of Architects’ Victorian Architecture Awards and is one of nine projects in the Public Architecture (New) category.

The lower levels of the building accommodate undergraduate learning spaces and are connected to the research spaces on the upper levels of the building through a broad open stair which the architects used as a representation of the ‘pathway’.

The architects said the learning areas and laboratories are all designed specifically to promote collaboration – either through students working together on science projects or research teams working together within a laboratory setting.

The cellular exterior of the building is derived from ideas about expressing the molecular research that happens within the building and creates a framework for the creation of a number of spaces for students to occupy, or for research staff to meet and collaborate.

The building at the University's Bundoora Campus meets the long-term needs for student learning and international research in the science disciplines.

 

Images courtesy of Lyons