Duke University
The Chesterfield Building Facilities
Durham, NC
Lord Aeck Sargent worked with Duke’s School of Medicine and the Pratt School of Engineering to create a shared space on 2.5 floors of The Chesterfield Building, which opened in 1948 as a cigarette factory for the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company.
The project brings together research groups from across the University into one, innovative and collaborative space, allowing them to work together closely. Initially, there were 13 user groups evaluated to occupy the space. Those included a core Mass Spectrometry facility, Electrical Engineering research, Mechanical and Material Science research, Biomedical Engineering research and teaching, translational research operations, and a variety of biomedical research. Throughout the process, it was imperative that LAS team meet with each group to understand their specific research and equipment needs first to determine appropriate space use, and second to create an efficient and effective design.
The program includes collaboration-friendly lab, office and conference spaces, which maximize exterior views and views into the building’s large, central day-lit atrium. The distinct design of the Duke floors create cohesion across the building.
In this entrepreneurial setting, researchers from both schools can collaborate, create, research and develop ideas. As the groups or research change, contract or grow, the labs will be able to adapt due to their flexible design.
