The addition to the 35-year-old existing science facility reflects the input of more than 60 faculty members, students and administrators who gathered in a brainstorming/planning session led by BWBR. It offers a welcoming, dynamic environment for undergraduate students and researchers and exists in harmony with the early 1900s campus architecture for which the university is known.

Windows function as a major theme in the design, bringing light into the building and offering a glimpse of the campus core and the science taking place inside. The addition supports a science outreach effort, creating opportunities for students and visitors to view and interact with science through traditional and interactive displays, including a two-story rock wall that showcases living plants and an imaginative video wall designed to resemble the periodic table of elements.

The addition houses wet and dry laboratories, teaching laboratories, classrooms, research and support facilities, and offices for the biology and chemistry departments. Core science laboratories are clustered to provide central preparation areas and ample interior wall space for writing, storage and projection. The space integrates seamlessly with the corridors of the existing building, creating a looped perimeter circuit that balances circulation and promotes interaction.

Part of the addition connects the science hall to the existing greenhouse complex via an underground tunnel, facilitating climate-controlled movement of people and research material.