Building a Workplace for True Team Science

I’m thrilled to see team science realized in this building. As a researcher myself, I appreciate the vision to create a space that encourages the sharing of information and ideas. This science building is unlike any other at OHSU. Tiffani Howard, Ph.D, Project Liaison

Breaking Down Silos to Promote Collaboration

Reducing the number of research floors and increasing the size of each floor allowed us to incorporate communicating stairs, which form functional and visual connections between floors and between research teams. The experimentalist laboratory and office suites are organized in interconnected “neighborhoods.”

These neighborhoods retain the modest scale researchers prefer, while providing the flexibility to reallocate space as needed. The extensive use of glass walls creates visual connections that reinforce the collective identity of the Knight Cancer Institute and allow more daylight into the building.

Open and Transparent

Workspaces are visually connected via extensive use of glass partitions. Quiet spaces allow researchers to escape the excitement of this environment for more reflective, private work. A central kitchen provides opportunity for social interaction during meal time, and an intellectual lounge with an adjoining roof terrace is a great place for researchers to relax and share discoveries. Additionally, casual seating throughout the building facilitates the chance encounters that help create a culture with a collective goal.

Spaces for People

A rooftop terrace and exterior balconies capitalize on stunning views to the Willamette River and the Cascade Mountains beyond. A 200-seat auditorium and additional meeting rooms make up a ground-floor conference center for a wide variety of events. A retail café and other amenities create a more public zone, which will contribute to the long-term development of the research campus.

Integrating Collaborative Workplace Strategies

SRG incorporated collaborative workplace strategies directly into the programming and design process of KCRB. B+H Advance Strategy was a critical consultant in the effort to understand the nature and execution of the organization’s work. Members of the SRG and B+H teams shadowed 17 scientists from five different Knight labs throughout the course of a typical day, observing and recording the scientists’ activities and noting precisely how they engaged with their environment. This observational work was supplemented by a survey that asked respondents how they use space, what they do, how they collaborate, and how they regard assigned and shared spaces. Additional questions tested receptivity to trends in the workplace for knowledge workers and assessed what new spaces and services might ease their work life, making them more effective in their primary research work.