from memchu to y2e2: how stanford's buildings affect science

FROM MEMCHU TO Y2E2:HOW THE BUILDING’S OF STANFORD AFFECT SCIENCE

Charles Naut

A School is Built

Established in 1885 by Leland and Jane

Stanford

A Secular, Californian, Coeducational

University

Main Architects: Fredrick Law Olmsted

and Henry Hobson Richardson

(succeeded by his student Charles

Coolidge)

Sandstone Bricks Red Tile Roofs Arches Arcades

Mission Revival

“One cannot (or at least should not) radically divide the practice of science from its product; Science is, among other things, a social activity…”

-Robert Proctor, Racial Hygiene

Built in 1903 in honor of Leland Stanford with the vision of Jane Stanford Rebuilt twice after the earthquakes of 1906 and 1989 Roman Catholic Influences Why is a church at the center of a secular research institution?

Memorial Church

“[It’s] importan[t] for part of campus to be meditative where achievement is not required of you…The pace we keep is dynamic so [the church] is a reminder to reflect”-Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Neumann, Senior Associate Dean for Religious Life

MemChu and Reflection

Dedicated in 1996 United Computer Science Department under one building

Gates Computer Science Building

Students and faculty come together Larry Page and Sergey Brin became acquainted during a weekly graduate gathering and later went on to start Google together

AT&T Patio

More room choices Open informal spaces for students and faculty

Learning from Mistakes: David Packard Electrical Engineering

Houses Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Woods Institute for the Environment, Earth Systems program, Precourt Institute for Energy, Bill Lane Center for the American West, and other environmental programs. Promotes interdisciplinary research

Jerry Yang & Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2)

Interdisciplinary Research

Biggest problems don’t fit in one discipline

People are grouped by problems they are trying to solve not departments Climate and Energy Freshwater Land use and Conservation Oceans and Estuaries Sustainable Environments

Four large open atria from basement to the third floor Natural lighting Natural ventilation: opens during night to let cool air in and closes during day Less lighting, less energy, less heat

Atria: The lungs of Y2E2

Stanford’s Architecture in the Future

Stanford’s architecture is a living entity

Viewing science as a “social activity”

Continue to look at the past for guidance

Foster Interdisciplinary Work

Creation of more sustainable buildings

Science and Engineering Quad (SEQ)

Huang School of Engineering Center

Staying True to Original Plans

Tradition with a modern feel

Main QuadScience and Engineering Quad

Tradition with a modern feel

Main QuadScience and Engineering Quad

The End