Stanford University School of Medicine 1651 Page Mill Renewal

Stanford University School of Medicine 1651 Page Mill Renewal

Setting new benchmarks for future laboratory research spaces.

The Stanford School of Medicine 1651 Page Mill Renewal is a 72,945 square foot scientific workplace that advances interdisciplinary research initiatives. The original 1960s building housed a maze of dark corridors and cavern-like rooms and a low-slung, square edifice of windowless, tilt-up walls. After due consideration, Stanford School of Medicine determined that a complete renovation offered the best opportunity to transform the facility into a contemporary, light-filled research environment.

Beginning with the exterior, the design removes 12-foot-deep overhangs on the north and south façade, replacing the outdated storefront windows with a high-performance curtain wall. The floor-to-ceiling glass of simple, origami-like folds floats above a wide-planked boardwalk that extends from inside the workplace to the edge of the outdoor gardens, blurring the lines between interior and external environments.

Reconfiguring the interior into a three-tiered, horizontal layer of program spaces, each successive spatial layer opens into the next, borrowing daylight and outdoor views from the previous space. Similarly, skylights bring daylight deep into the open, two-story gathering and circulation spaces.

Incorporating biophilic design strategies, research spaces are graced by landscaped gardens at each side of the facility, which inform interior concepts. The Bosc Pear is referenced in the green palette, identifying research neighborhoods that view the south outdoor patio. The Blue Cypresses in the north garden shape the cool blue neighborhood, providing an elegant backdrop to the research space.

Overall, the facility serves as a pilot project, setting new guidelines and benchmarks for the university’s future laboratory research spaces.