The 60,000-SF Central New York Biotech Accelerator (CNYBAC) at SUNY Upstate Medical University, was designed to be a catalyst for biotechnology research and economic development in central New York. This multiple-tenant facility has highly adaptable and flexible modular incubator labs designed with tenant space at a competitive cost with minimal requirement for fit-up, allowing tenants to easily expand and contract their space use.
The concept was to provide emerging companies the opportunity to occupy high quality research and pilot space that also provides the support functions and services that would allow them to concentrate their expertise and funding on research and product development.
In an effort to avoid winter construction conditions, the design team was challenged to program, design, and document the project in seven months. This project has three separate owner organizations, each serving as an equal stakeholder, collaborating with the design team to develop consensus on a vision, conceptual program and building design.
The building is designed with a dual approach to the façade, opaque with ribbon windows on the north side, and an entirely transparent floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall on the south side.
The compact building with its small exterior envelope is designed to open toward the city, achieving an unprecedented lab experience for user groups and scientists. Collaborative zones are centralized on each floor, culminating with an exuberant innovation center on the top floor, fostering scientific exchange and communication between researchers.
The BAC provides a stimulating environment where innovation is part of the culture. At the BAC, our innovators will ‘collide and cloister’ with trailblazers in the fields of science, medicine, engineering, business, product development and licensing.