Students and faculty fill the beakers and the new lounge chairs, test the scales and the laptop jacks, and stream up and down the glass-walled staircases of the new Integrated Sciences Building (ISB). The first classes were held in the spring semester. UMass Amherst broke ground on the four-story, $92.7 million building in September 2006; it will have its grand opening this fall.

The 155,000-square-foot ISB is designed to forge a model for science teaching and research on campus, focusing on the integration of the life, chemical, and physical sciences. Paul Lahti, director of the undergraduate program in the chemistry department, calls the ISB a “mixing bowl for sciences.”

Students and faculty praise the building’s transparency and interconnectedness. Says Steve Goodwin, dean of the College of Natural Resources and the Environment, “this is a terrific facility. The design has an openness that encourages interaction among students and faculty. It allows students from different areas to collaborate, and that is an essential part of their education.”

The building has two wings: one for labs, one for offices and classrooms, with multiple breakout rooms and corner lounges. The first three floors are for educational purposes, with an open floor plan that connects the labs. There is a 300-seat auditorium equipped with the latest scientific demonstration technologies, and an 85-seat classroom. The fourth floor will house research labs with equipment on wheels to encourage customization and collaboration. The ISB features interior windows so that students can see lab work in progress and much of the state-of-the-art lab equipment was fitted with special see-through protective hoods.

Walking paths around the building lead to the lobby and atrium and enhance the transparency and interconnectivity of the design. Lahti likens the ISB to “a walk-through science mall.”

"This is how a science building should be," says Shaynah Browne, a teaching assistant, as she instructs 16 students in one of the new labs. “I can teach without interrupting the lab next to me because each section is partitioned...just enough. And the space allows for students to focus more.”

The ISB plays a vital role in advancing the collaborative research of the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute (PVLSI), a partnership between UMass Amherst and Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Funding for the ISB included $81.45 million borrowed through the UMass Building Authority, $7.5 million in state funds, a $2 million private gift, and $1.75 million in federal funds. The private gift is from Richard J. Mahoney and Barbara M. (Barnett) Mahoney, both of Class of 1955, and Robert M. Mahoney and Kathleen (Scott) Mahoney, both of Class of 1970.

The ISB is the first major phase of the campus’s development of life science facilities that support the school’s emergence as a leader among public research universities.

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Red Bricks, Green Building
Old-school red brick on the outside, the ISB has new-school energy reduction and sustainability features from basement to rooftop. The building’s many green elements include:
- Use of 100 percent of the steel and concrete recycled from the demolished Marshall Annex - Rainwater recycling system - Energy-reducing heating and cooling systems to maximize the effi ciency of the new Central Heating Plant - Two roof gardens - Low-flow fume hoods in teaching labs - Motion sensors and timers on lights - Green construction materials, such as bamboo cabinetry and recycled rubber floors