The project team provided full site planning and design services from chase to completion — as a multi‐disciplinary design firm, the team provided architecture, interior design, structural engineering, and construction administration services.

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The planning and design philosophy included providing an integrated and cohesive design concept within the context of existing campus planning and design standards while responding to client needs and program requirements, emphasizing campus walkability and connectivity.

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New Jersey’s stringent bioretention permitting process required careful planning and lengthy coordination to properly site and size the bioretention area to serve this facility and a future phase of equal size. Pedestrian bridges crossing the bioretention area were proposed and implemented to reduce the need for unsightly civil engineering solutions such as outlet control structures and flared end sections. Rutgers chemistry department faculty raised separate funding for the LEED documentation and certification process with the requirement of a Gold rating. Sustainable and durable materials were important to the university — local materials (granite from northeast New Jersey), no irrigation, all LED site lighting fixtures, and stainless steel site rails were all proposed and implemented. The project’s plant palette was derived from native and drought tolerant species according to established university standards — this portion of New Jersey is home to a large and hungry deer population that factored into plant species selection.