The $52.8 million PACCAR Environmental Technology Building at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington brings to life the vision of WSU?s Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture and the pursuit of interdisciplinary research related to sustainability concerns.

The 96,000-square-foot project is a collaboration between designers LMN Architects and general contractor Skanska.
Photography: Ed LaCasse
The four-story building serves five of WSU?s long-standing research and development centers, all dedicated to tackling multi-faceted environmental issues through interdisciplinary collaboration. ?What?s exciting about this project is how it sums up so much of what contemporary education is about?collaboration, exploration?a truly interdisciplinary approach?the whole project is essentially one giant laboratory,? notes Mark Reddington, FAIA, Partner at LMN. Photography: Ed LaCasse
Conceptually, the building merges the spirit of collaboration with the exploration of materiality. Functionally, the building is formed by two distinct elements: a ?workhorse bar? housing secure laboratories, offices, and student workstations; and a ?showcase bar? that presents the program?s work to the campus community with transparent program spaces, including a heavy materials lab, a double-height seminar room, and a flexible design studio. The intersection of the two bars creates a ?Town Square,? a lounge and cafe that serve as the social hub of the program and where the general publi...