Botanical Greenhouse at UMass Completed

Boston – The CNS Research and Education Greenhouse at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass Amherst) was recently completed. The combined 20,000sf complex supports advanced research in the plant, soil and insect sciences. The complex’s design balances the historic and agrarian character of the university’s roots with the spirit of cutting-edge botanical research.
The project was designed by Payette.
The facility includes a new 10,000sf research greenhouse, a new 5,500sf research laboratory, and a renovated 4,500sf teaching greenhouse.
The greenhouse features sophisticated automated systems that control natural and artificial light, temperature, humidity, irrigation and fertilization. The fine-tuning of these controls enables maximum research capacity and allows for cutting-edge plant experimentation.
“These state-of-the-art greenhouses, the largest in the Commonwealth, enhance our research, teaching and extension endeavors,” said Steve Goodwin, dean of the College of Natural Sciences. “The sophisticated design is as beautiful as it is energy-efficient and provides a sustainable infrastructure to facilitate plant growth. The new laboratory and classroom spaces are housed in the same structure, and provide a one-stop-shopping space for learning and experimentation.”
The greenhouses are comprised of an open, flexible environment for plant growth and experimentation, while the laboratory is a sophisticated research and teaching facility that includes two research labs, a wet/dry botany classroom and a seed germination facility. Project interiors maintain a simple and minimal character that is in keeping with the agrarian style. The laboratory, which is housed in a modern reinterpretation of a New England Barn, takes on a similar shape and character to the greenhouses, thereby creating a single, unified facility rather than a collection of differing building elements.
Designed to meet LEED® Silver certification by the United States Green Building Council, the greenhouses feature an innovative stormwater retention system, sustainably harvested woods, a ‘heat wheel’ energy recovery system for the labs and an evaporative cooling system for the greenhouse.