University of Virginia Pinn Hall Laboratory Renovations

Charlottesville, VA

Cooper Carry worked with the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine for renovations over multiple phases to transform the over 50-year-old Pinn Hall into a flexible multi-disciplinary research environment.

The renovations aimed to create a laboratory environment to attract top principal investigators and support student participation in funded research for the Departments of Cell Biology and Pharmacology. Laboratories are designed in an efficient modular open plan layout that accommodates changing research needs. The renovations also replaced all architectural, laboratory, and MEP systems.

Spaces for collaboration and display have been placed at strategic locations that leverage opportunities for interactions across the institution. Transparency, collaborative audio-visual technologies, high-quality lighting and carefully engineered acoustics draw people together.

Laboratories are designed in an efficient, modular, open plan layout that is flexible and encourages collaboration between research groups. Write-up spaces are in close proximity to the open labs and is visually connected by glass walls to the lab research activities. Conference spaces and “huddle rooms” further enhance collaborations.

The renovations are an important element in UVA’s goal is to become one of the nation’s top 20 health and research institutions within ten years. The project’s design was informed by the university’s Integrated Space Planning effort, which reached across the Health Systems platforms to promote innovation, synergy, and efficiency.