Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences was the winner of a prestigious international design award, chosen from a field of 40 shortlisted entries from nine countries on three continents. The laboratory received the S-Lab (Sustainability) Award for Laboratory Improvement and Innovation for achieving collaboration, efficiency and environmental performance at an award ceremony at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom on Sept. 19. Architect Gary Shaw accepted the award.

The S-Lab award program is designed to encourage more effective, efficient, and sustainable laboratory space around the world by recognizing exceptional models that meet these goals. 

Bigelow Laboratory, overlooking the Damariscotta River in East Boothbay, was singled out for its design that embodies “Inter-Agency Collaboration.” Its LEED Platinum campus with three laboratory wings, funded by different agencies and which house interconnected scientists and laboratories, connected to a shared “commons” were cited as design features that enhance collaboration within the structure itself.

S-Lab Director Peter James said, “The 2014-15 Awards — which attracted entries from around the world — show that laboratories find the ‘holy grail’ of better science, improved effectiveness and efficiency and lower environmental impact if they rethink many traditional precepts of design and operation. The result is more resource for actual science, even in times of austerity.”

The selection committee was comprised of individuals representing a variety of British institutions including: the Association of University Directors of Estates, BRE Global, Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges, Higher Education Funding Council for England, Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Institute of Science and Technology, Institute of Cancer Research, National Science Learning Centre, National Union of Students, Royal Society of Chemistry, Science Council, Scottish Funding Council, Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium, and University Biology Managers Association.

“We are delighted that our laboratory facilities can effectively compete on a world stage for efficiency, sustainability, and for promoting a collaborative successful work environment,” added Graham Shimmield, Bigelow Laboratory’s executive director.

More information about the award is available here: www.labdesignnews.com/articles/2014/06/platinum-solution-ocean-sciences.

This is the seventh award won by Bigelow Laboratory’s Ocean Science and Education Campus since its opening in December 2012. The other awards are: 2013 Sustainable Design Award and 2013 Design Excellence Citation from the Boston Society of Architects; 2013 Build New England Grand Honor Award from the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts; 2014 Laboratory of the Year, Honorable Mention, R&D Magazine; 2014 annual design award from the American Institute of Architects, Maine, which was published in Maine Home & Design; and the 2014 Green Award of the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce.