One of the largest, most complex building projects in Yale University’s 322-year history is underway in New Haven, Connecticut. Today, TenBerke is collaborating with Ballinger and MNLA to deliver the Upper Science Hill Development (USHD).
The Upper Science Hill Development is a future 611,00-square-foot campus within a campus. It will provide an intellectual hub and world-class environment for quantum science, engineering, and materials initiatives, TenBerke shared.
As the name suggests, the Upper Science Hill Development will be sited on the northern edge of Yale’s Science Hill, an area with significant topographical changes. (It rises 50 feet from east to west.) The structure will be a total 7 stories—five of the floors will be above grade, with two below.
For Science Hill, TenBerke developed a series of interconnected pavilions faced with glass and terracotta. A “terraced street” will connect the buildings, designers from TenBerke said, and the project’s overall vision is to shape a new “interdisciplinary community.”
That community will consist of research scientists, experimental theorists, quantum physicists, engineers, and others. TenBerke closely analyzed the needs of each discipline that will abound at the complex, and laid out the spaces accordingly. The spaces for quantum physicists, for instance, demand good vibration control, so those were placed near bedrock.
“In the simplest of terms, this is a project that’s good for the [sciences] and good for the scientists,” said Ameet Hiremath, a senior principal at TenBerke. “Scientists often work in hermetic black boxes. To counterbalance those isolated research conditions, the USHD aims to connect people in a healthy, collegial social environment. This will be a fantastic human environment with access to daylight and natural landscapes wherever you are.”
Aaron Plewke, a principal at TenBerke, added: “Our work for higher education institutions often involves campus-making. For the Yale USHD, we are completing an 11-acre portion of Science Hill, extending campus paths and creating new quads, courtyards, walks, and gateways. From the earliest stages of design, we’ve focused on shaping campus space, both with existing and future buildings—and doing so in a way that is contextual yet inventive, welcoming, and universally accessible.”
The project will be completed in two phases.
Yale University is aiming for a 2030 completion date.
