Creating a Village for Science Education at Wellesley College
Additional fee, registration required.
Join us to tour the Wellesley College Science Complex, the most ambitious building project in the college's modern history: The transformation of an outdated science center into an inviting, integrated, sustainable, and flexible village for STEM education.
Through thoughtful removal, renovation, and addition, SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) reimagined the Science Complex—built in the 1920s and expanded in the 1970s and 1990s—for 21st century education. The result puts science on display and converts a dark, fortress-like complex that consumed more energy than any other campus structure into a bright, engaging learning hub certified LEED Platinum.
Join us to tour the Wellesley College Science Complex, the most ambitious building project in the college's modern history: The transformation of an outdated science center into an inviting, integrated, sustainable, and flexible village for STEM education.
Through thoughtful removal, renovation, and addition, SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) reimagined the Science Complex—built in the 1920s and expanded in the 1970s and 1990s—for 21st century education. The result puts science on display and converts a dark, fortress-like complex that consumed more energy than any other campus structure into a bright, engaging learning hub certified LEED Platinum.
Learning Objectives
- Explore how to build with mass timber from construction code limitations to procurement during pandemic restrictions.
- Learn how to gain consensus among multiple users to determine how much square footage to renovate versus building new within budget.
- Discover how the team empowered women and minorities to take leadership positions in the design and construction process.
- Find out how smart sequencing and a comprehensive phasing strategy enabled the site to be occupied during construction.
- Michelle Maheu
- Julia Grabazs
Associate Principal - Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)