With the high demand for professionals in the life sciences and biopharma industry, East Carolina University (ECU) saw an opportunity to build a facility that would allow biologists, chemists, physicists, and engineers to work together under one roof. The idea for the Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building was born and is now a modern facility and interdisciplinary research space for faculty and students. CLH worked as part of a comprehensive design team providing landscape architecture and civil engineering services for the four-story building located on 10th and Evans Street. The building creates a strong presence from the Tenth Street bridge coming into downtown Greenville from the west.
When the building was first designed, a parking deck was included. However, due to budget constraints, the deck option was changed to a surface parking lot. The 230-space surface parking lot is located along Ninth Street to take advantage of ingress/egress from the lightly traveled Ninth Street and to create a strong pedestrian connection to Library Drive where most pedestrians will travel to and from main campus. The parking lot has permeable pavers to help reduce the overall impervious and to incorporate environmental design. There is also a large plaza for outdoor events, spillover from the large conference room, and dining for building staff. In addition to internal and parking lot landscaping, the project also includes new streetscapes along Tenth, Cotanche, and Evans. CLH’s landscape architecture and civil engineering services provided a strong foundation for the overall design of this interdisciplinary and innovative research and academic space.
