The Life Sciences Technology Building is the cornerstone of Cornell University’s Genomics Initiative, a campus wide, faculty-drive research, development and educational program to maintain Cornell’s leading role in the study of life sciences. The building merges biological, physical, engineering and computational sciences and furthers the understanding of social, legal and ethical and business aspects of genomics. It houses research and teaching laboratories, genomic technology services, a distance learning center and business incubators on four floors above grade and a substantial basement with a vivarium and plant controlled environment facilities. The total gross area of the building is 270,000-SF. The project received LEED gold certification and (at the time of completion) was just the sixth LEED gold certification for a university laboratory building in the country. Energy consumption is obviously a huge consideration for science buildings, and Weill Hall is projected to use 30 percent less energy than a comparable building. This allowed the design team to push for LEED gold during the construction phase rather than the original goal of silver certification.
