Designed by Louis Kahn and constructed in 1961 on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus, the Richards Medical Research Laboratory is a National Historic Landmark, and one of the great buildings of the 20th century. The building consists of four towers (A, B, C, and D) in a pinwheel configuration. Building systems were reaching the end of their useful lives, and programming for the building was evolving from wet lab uses to more computational equipment, creating a need to renovate the building to address the needs of University departments. Work was planned in phases to address both the maintenance and upgrade needs of the building, as well as the repurposing of
all floors.
INTECH executed Phase 1 at Towers C and D which included the complete replacement of major equipment, an exterior window restoration, and a complete renovation of the 5th and 6th floors for the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. The design included new partitions based upon Kahn design precedents made of wood and glass. On the exterior, work included the reglazing of all existing windows as well as refurbishment of the existing stainless steel frames to upgrade the performance of the building envelope while also respecting Kahn’s original design.
Phase 2, executed simultaneously with Phase 1, included the fit-out of the remaining five floors of C and D Towers, as well as renovation of one floor of the neighboring Goddard Building.
