Science Centre by Rafael Viñoly

The curved 49,000-square-foot building, designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, is conceived as a new academic hub for the campus of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, upstate New York.

The new home of the College’s Computer Science and Biology programs includes “smart” classrooms, set up for multimedia sound and computer projections and videoconferencing, and 10,000 square feet of laboratory space that lines the entire western side of the building. The labs are based on an open plan model with flexible spaces that can be reconfigured as necessary.
A glass curtainwall allows daylight to flood into the labs and also enhances the sciences by exposing the workings of a lab to people passing by.
Three elliptical-shaped classrooms and an egg-shaped 60-seat auditorium dominate the lobby on the east side of the building. Above the three classrooms are terraces that overlook the lobby, providing informal space for students to study and interact with each other and the faculty.