Designed by Mockbee-Coker-Howorth-Architects in association with laboratory specialists, Haines, Lundberg Waehler, of New York, this state-of-the-art scientific research facility consists of a one-story block of thirty laboratories surrounded by a perimeter ring of offices punctuated by informal conference areas described as interaction nodes.

A two-level administration wing of 14,000 square feet supports the laboratory block. The administrative wing includes offices, a demonstration room and a fixed-seat conference room for 75 persons. The third major wing of the building contains a reading room, two classrooms, a drafting studio, central computer room, workshops and mechanical and electrical equipment.

The building's greatest challenge was to create an acoustically controllable building, a challenge met with innovative mechanical and general building systems. Another significant challenge was the marriage of the high-tech function of the building with its almost literally an-tique image. Simplifying the traditional details to acknowledge the building’s contemporary con-struction while rigorously maintaining traditional classical proportions solved this.

The building won an Award of Merit for Excellence in Construction from the Mississippi As-sociated Builders and Contractors in 1990.

It has been published in Architecture, Progressive Architecture, and Design and Construction magazines.


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