Lexington, KY – Ellenzweig provided programming, lab planning, and design services for this new 285,000 gsf research and teaching building for the College of Pharmacy at theUniversity of Kentucky in Lexington.
The Biological Pharmaceutical Complex is the largest academic building in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The program
includes research labs, pharmacy teaching labs, lab support, meeting and conference rooms, classrooms, and offices for faculty, graduate students, and
administration. Specialized facilities include core labs, an NMR facility, a 15,000 gsf vivarium, and patient assessment suites.
Floors One and Two of the five-story building are dedicated to teaching facilities:lecture halls, classrooms, problem-based seminar rooms, and pharmacy teaching
labs. Administrative offices and services are also located here, including the Dean’s Suite, which features private elevator access.
Research laboratories and support facilities, as well as faculty offices, are located on Floors Three, Four, and Five. Generous public spaces including lounges and
breakout areas are dispersed throughout all floors. An important teaching facility included in the building is the clinical simulation
center, intended to train students to develop clinical skills via interaction with standardized patients in an exam room environment. The suite includes 10 exam
rooms, a briefing room, write-up room, control room, standardized patient lounge/briefing area, and storage areas. The suite provides separate access to exam
rooms for standardized patients versus students, to avoid interaction between these groups outside of the simulated exam room environment. The suite
includes full A/V integration, including digital cameras for recording of student-patient interaction, microphones for audio recording, control room with monitors to
view all exam rooms, and computer storage for all digitally-recorded information. A prominent feature of the building is the five-story atrium that affords visual and
physical connectivity with all levels; access to all floors can be gained via the monumental, open stairway. The atrium serves as a main function and gathering
space, with electronic display capability.
The building exterior was designed with respect for the existing academic context; it features the red brick and limestone materials of its neighbors, and a
contemporary curtainwall system with solar shading devices. The full penthouse is clad in metal panels. A new, enclosed pedestrian bridge connects the eastern
end of the building to an existing laboratory building. The new building responds to the University’s mission to provide contemporary
research and teaching facilities for the College of Pharmacy, allowing the College to expand enrollment to address the shortage of pharmacists in Kentucky.
The building consolidates the research and teaching expertise of the fifth-ranked college of pharmacy in the United States, further strengthening research
collaboration among the faculty (formerly housed in 11 locations on and off the campus). Ellenzweig served as Design Architect, Laboratory Planner, and Instructional
Facilities Planner in association with EOP Architects of Lexington, Architect of
Record. Construction Manager for the building was Messer Construction. New England consultants participating in the project included Vanderweil Engineers,
LeMessurier Consultants, MoharDesign, Acentech, Vermeulens Cost Consultants, Kroll Security, Harold Cutler PE, RWDI, Atelier Ten, and Nicholas Browse &
Associates.