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recently designed the fourth and final building of the 595,000-square-foot Science and Engineering Quad at Stanford University. The $140 million Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering Building had to be state-of-the-art, but also match the overall footprint of the quad, which was designed six years ago.

鈥淏y the time you move through the years and program the building, essentially the program changes and the needs change,鈥� said John O鈥橳oole, a principal at Boora. 鈥淏ut the building architecture on the exterior stays consistent with what was set in place close to a decade ago; it was a challenge.鈥�

To fit all the lab space (70 percent of the building), two sub-basement levels were added. The quad鈥檚 other three buildings already have basement floors that connect seamlessly.

The building also will feature a number of collaborative spaces. They are expected to encourage collaboration among faculty in all science and engineering fields, O鈥橳oole said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 consolidating people in one central location,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll different aspects of these departments can come together and share information, and sometimes researchers sitting over coffee and lunch can determine, 鈥楬ey, we could work together on this.鈥� 鈥�

The building will be an upgrade from the university鈥檚 existing engineering and science facilities, which were built decades ago, O鈥橳oole added. It will also tie together the university鈥檚 main quad, near the center of campus.

The quad鈥檚 first building, the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building, opened in early 2008. The other two buildings, the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center and the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, were completed in 2010. All four buildings were designed with sustainable features, such as atria, solar panels, ventilation louvers and energy-saving display panels.

鈥淲e approach each building both individually for the functions and program within that building, but also part of that collective whole of the entire quad,鈥� O鈥橳oole said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the realization of a vision that was put in place many years ago.鈥�

Construction, now under way, is being handled by Whiting-Turner. Work is expected to finish in early 2014.

鈥淥n the Boards鈥� is a weekly feature that spotlights local firms鈥� best design work. Submissions from architectural and engineering firms are encouraged. Please call 503-802-7240 or email [email protected].