MIT Media Lab: Architectural Analysis for Robotics Research

Architect: Maki and Associates, Tokyo, Japan.

Location: Cambridge

Site area: 10117 sq.m

Built up area: 17000 sq.m

Opened: 2010

Climate:
Humid summers and cold snowy winters

Summers - 21.1 to 29.4 degree celsius (peak at July)

Winters - -11 to 4.4 degree celsius.

The MIT Media Lab is an interdisciplinary research lab that encourages the unconventional mixing
and matching of seemingly disparate research areas.

Ground floor

● Has dual entry for two different research laboratories and has a common machine
shop to equip during the research exploration.
● Loading deck is away from the lobbies for smooth circulation.

● Facade reduces heat gain in summer while still allowing ample daylight and heat
gain is further reduced by advanced glass building envelopes making the social
space usable during summers with more energy efficiency.

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 ● The lobby space crowd is moved out without disturbing other research spaces by
zoning the vertical circulation within the atrium.

Second floor

● The continuation of the staircase in the atrium makes it visually connected to the users and
connects the adjoint spaces with efficient proximity.
● This floor has 3 atrium voids creating more openness to the user creating more livable
space.

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 ● Every individual entity of the program is directly connected with a void balancing the open
space within the closed spaces.

THIRD FLOOR

● Conference rooms are zones away from the research laboratory due to its
unnecessary proximity and its buffered with atrium.
● This floor starts the new upper atrium which connects vertically to the above floors.
● The mezzanine floors has individual spiral staircase which only connects that one
floor makes a less crowd usable spaces instead of combining with the common
vertical circulation

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FOURTH FLOOR

● Having multiple research laboratory needs and increasingly more voids making is an
uncongested space to use.
● The labs are zoned along the building envelope walls to achieve daylight most of the time.

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SIXTH FLOOR

● The lecture hall creates more negative spaces to continue its form continuity from its below
floor.
● The reception space is given to the conference room, multipurpose space and lecture hall as
they dont function simultaneously completely.

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 ● Voids help connect different vertical levels which enhance the visual perception of
the space. Due to this, interaction between individuals is enhanced.
● All research spaces have at least one exterior exposure, entirely glazed, in addition
to the glass partitions between the labs and the adjoining social spaces.
● The Media lab has facilities that will be regularly used by the university community
on the top floors having cafe, auditorium, multipurpose hall and a skylit space for
receptions. The building has the potential to capture views of the water and the
Boston skyline.
● The central built up space is a multi-tiered central atrium surrounded by a research
lab and informal gathering space offering a high level of transparency and
interconnection between spaces.

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Vertical zoning

The base is composed of the main entrance and its fairly low ceiling exhibition spaces.The
upper and lower atrium form the connection and the public spaces on the roof are the
crown.

Vertical segregation of functions

Vertical segregation of function is done and the meanwhile

connectivity is also addressed at the same time. Atrium
holds the essence of the building as it has a different nature
attached to it.

Vertical Segregation of spaces

Design of lab

● The lab spaces are vertically staggered such that no

two labs share a continuous floor plate, creating a
complex section.
● The mezzanine level, connected to an open
research area by spiral staircase. Each mezzanine is also
accessible by elevator.

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 Circulation

● Circulation on the upper floors are guided by

bridges and voids on either or both sides which helps with
visuals of the activities going on different levels.
● Circulation here becomes easy as the staircases are
visually connected.

Spatial quality and circulation

Open and non hierarchical nature of the space. Circulation is designed in a way to facilitate
contact among researchers. The lower atrium and the upper atrium around which the labs
are layered. Stairs bridging the atrium are painted red, blue and yellow making emphasized

Social spaces

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UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Architect: Perkins Eastman

Area: 64000 sq ft

Location: Chicago, United States

Existing building Newly built

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 ● Chose to retain the existing building to maintain and protect a landmark
● The reuse of the structure reduced the environmental impact.

Site plan

● The plot is almost a square

facing North, and has ample frontage
for the users.

The social space between conference and office.

● Planning and design included the

renovation of the interior, and the
construction of two new occupied floor
levels built over the existing structure.
● The work of a physicist requires
both individual focus and group
collaboration, giving the opportunity to
design spaces that would promote
innovation by bringing theorists and
experimentalists together.

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 ● The original building’s basement mechanical spaces were repurposed to serve an
almost doubled building volume. The design had to maximize the efficiency of the
building systems and enclosure.
● The rebuilt basement now has a mechanical room on the west and east sides of the
basement, equipment rooms, labs and storage.
● The mechanical rooms have a sunken floor and achieved additional 0.9 meters
without changing the roof levels which helps in easy access of the above floor and
reduces the foundation cost of the building.

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 ● The first floor has dual entry one from north and another from south and has a
vertical core to access the basement on both sides.
● Unlike the basement floor the first floor daylight vision is opened on all sides with
most of the side wall spaces being office spaces.
● The new vertical core begins from the first floor in the southwest.

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 ● The office spaces were in the building edges as they require natural light all day and
by this way it helps control the light pollution for the labs which are located at
central.
● A social commons with a two-story glass wall serves as the informal heart of the
building, a natural gathering space for group meals, and lunchtime talks.
● The structural elements like columns are placed along the walls which are much
visible to the users.

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 ● Shared spaces are connected to natural light, outdoor views, and dining and vertical
circulation increase chance encounters between people, encouraging collaboration.
● The building includes a variety of collaboration areas as well as flexible experimental
physics labs, special purpose instrument labs, and modern workspace
environments, seminar room, which hosts regular lectures, seminars, and
conferences.
● Throughout the building, shared areas and offices are filled with natural light and
outdoor views.
● The open, connected plan increases chance encounters between people, a nudge
towards communication and collaboration.

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 ● The design team met performance requirements by combining chilled beam heating
and cooling with high-efficiency glazing (0.22 solar heat gain coefficient),
superinsulation, and four large green roof areas. The building surpassed the
University’s requirements and earned LEED Gold certification (v2009 New
Construction).
● Shared spaces are connected to natural light, outdoor views, and dining and vertical
circulation increase chance encounters between people, encouraging collaboration.
● An open stairwell connects circulation across two-floor levels. An adjoining roof
terrace extends this space to the outdoors and provides a unique vantage point
above the quad.

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 ● The administration room cantilevers to gain more daylight factor and a terrace
above creates a socializing space between office and conference room.
● The orientation of this huge terrace is south east and creates a comfortable evening
space to gather.
● The transition of the terrace is gradually transformed from closed to semi open then
the open, this helps in making use of natural daylight in multiple required spaces.

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Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore

● Location - Koramangala, Bangalore. (Being located on the outskirts makes it away from the
hustle bustle of the city and creates an atmosphere conducive to research.)
● Architect - Charles Correa
● Capacity - 300 people (Footfall around the year)
● Area - 5 acre

Connectivity and amenities of IIA, Bangalore

Representation of indoor and outdoor spaces

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The circulation and zones of the IIA, Bangalore
● The site is well connected with the wider roads and has the bus terminal nearby
(300m)
● The circulation inside the campus is effortless having all buildings under 50 meter
proximity.
● The visual connection between the buildings feels near and blended landscapes are
added features around the campus.

Academic programme details

● Ph.D. programme:
- Students are offered Junior Research Fellowship for 1st two years, after assessment
they are offered Senior Research Fellowship.
- Total tenure is 5 years.
- The maximum student intake is 30 in an academic year.
- Hostel facilities are provided in the ratio 1:4.

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Administration hierarchy

User Group Total Number

Governing council
Chairman 1
Member - IUCAA, TIRF, ISRO, PRL 4
Director
Director's secretariat 1+2
Academic staff 60
Technical staff
Accounts 3
Salary & pension 2
Cash section 1
Transport 1
Hospitality 1
Stores and purchase 2
Director’s office 1
Dean office 1
AO office 2
Non-technical staff
Helper and driver 2
Students 150

● The admissions and programs are governed by its Indian Institute of Astrophysics,
Bangalore set of rules and regulations of the institution.

Facilities

● Technical division :

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 ● IIA, Bangalore has a control center which connects the institution with various
observatories for the data transfer.

Key plan Control room conceptual plan

● The control center is basically a bunch of screens and monitors from where we can
control the telescope.
● The intake count varies every year with respect to the faculty availability maximum
35 staff in the present academic year and the student doing the research work
under the faculty in the last 2 years.
● The telescopes are used with solar filters for day use and vice versa for night use.

Main building

Keyplan Main building entrance view from admin block

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Zoning of library in main block

Library interior view

● It has a library (ground floor) with large bookshelves, it follows an open book system
along with ample reading space for research scientists.
● Large recessed windows in stonewalls provide ample light.
● Serves capacity of 60 – 80 students with photocopying facility.
● It has a computer lab with 15 computers(first floor) and an electronics lab.
● fabrication rooms with capacity of 150 – 200 people.
● Library space for the students is not sufficient, needs to be expanded and is not
planned for future expansion
● At the entrance no lounge is provided creating inconvenience for the visitors.

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 Openings of main building

Director’s building

corridor with less natural light.

Section of the whole main building cut through the library to show the director's room with zoning.

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 ● This building is attached with double
loaded corridors with no adequate light and
improper ventilation running centrally.
● Dividing the rooms equally in size for
professors and scientists with appropriate toilet
facilities on both corners.
● Serving about 10-16 scientists on each
floor of 3 floors.
● This building serves the director's room
and their secretariat rooms.
● Space allocated to each scientist is also
not sufficient. Hardly 2 can fit and need to be
expanded.

Optics lab

Above images are the key plan and view of the optics lab respectively

Vertical zoning of optics lab

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Optics lab is a G+1 structure with a tower for testing of lenses and mirrors.

● Has the vertical and horizontal check space.

● In a horizontal check room, optical instruments are mounted horizontally on stable
platforms or optical benches.Conversely, a vertical check room is equipped with
apparatus for mounting optical instruments in a vertical orientation.
● These rooms are typically equipped with temperature and humidity controls and
light-tight enclosures to create stable and controlled testing environments.
● It includes manufacturing spaces:

Sequence of manufacturing rooms:

a.Grinding
b.Polishing (dustproof and maintained below
20 degree celsius)
c.Aluminising (coating)

Testing Room: It is a dust proof, dark,

air-conditioned, disturbance free, turbulence
free and well-secured room. It is next to the
polishing room and isolated from the other
rooms with heights of 15-20m.

Aluminum Coating Room: This area is also

air-conditioned, serving grinding, tool
making, chimney and space for return air
and hot water supply along with storage.

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Mechanical Workshop

Keyplan Front view of mechanical workshop

● The ground cover is 300sqm.

● Capacity 25 students.
● Large open space is provided for easy movement of heavy machinery and for
fabricating astronomical instruments like telescopes, spectrographs etc.,
● Under each of this machinery is an extra padding of R.C.C. to counterbalance the
weight.
● Properly ventilated by high level windows providing ample light.

The conceptual section of mechanical floor

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Area statement
Spaces Area Spaces Area
Entrance-security room 20 Horizontal check 50
Main laboratory bldg. Vertical check 50
Entrance hall 100 Dark room 10
Library connected with stock room 350 Tool making and store 100
Rooms for scientists (15 nos.) 20 each Aluminum coating area 30
Vainu Bappu department
Dark rooms (5 nos.) 20 each office 150
Spectroscopy lab 140 Second floor dining area 150
Demonstration lab (5 nos.) 140 Guest rooms (6 nos.) 35 each
Electronic lab 35 Mechanical workshop 420
Computer lab and office 110 A.C. Plant 300
Binding room 100 New laboratory building
Toilets 100 Dining hall 300
Director's room 150 Lounge 100
Director's secretary 20 Conference hall 150
Optics laboratory Pantry 20
Officers' room 200 Kitchenette 50
Toilets 40 Scientists' rooms (17 nos.) 15 each
Grinding, polishing and testing
area 120 Parking area 380

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CASE STUDY
INTER UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

Location map

Architect : Charles Correa

Location : Pune

Built year : 1992

Total built-up area = 8997 sq. m.

Total plot area = 43,000 sq. m.

Therefore FAR = 21%

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Master plan

● The IUCAA Pune campus is situated within a larger context, taking advantage of its natural
surroundings.
● The master plan describes specific zones for different functions. This zoning ensures optimal
land use, allowing for efficient operation and minimizing potential conflicts between
activities.
● A well-thought-out circulation plan ensures smooth connectivity between different zones.
Pedestrian-friendly pathways are designed to enhance accessibility while minimizing
disturbances to sensitive research areas.
● The master plan accounts for future expansions, allocating spaces for potential new
buildings or facilities.
● The master plan incorporates green spaces and landscaping to promote biodiversity and
contribute to the overall aesthetic appeal.

Aims and Objectives

● Basic research
● Advanced research school and workshops
● Visitors and associate programmes
● Refresher courses
● Helping nucleation of astronomy and astrophysics between universities
● M.Sc. and Ph.D. programmes
● Guest observer programmes
● Interaction with GMRT

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Devyani (institutional complex)

It is the main academic core of IUCAA and consists of 4 main blocks, each having different activities
grouped around a central court, library with adjoining librarian’s rooms, stores, binding room etc.
Library covers a huge area of about 450 sq. m. with an additional mezzanine space.

The buildings are strategically positioned to maximize natural light and facilitate a seamless
connection between indoor and outdoor spaces.

Courtyard - Computer center & library Dining to Dome

Central courtyard

Computer center

The computer center has a network of some 30 supercomputer workstations, which can be shared
by an Ethernet link all throughout the Aryabhatta block.

Lecture Halls

They are 3 in number. One of them is well equipped with a projector as teaching through the films
and slides is a necessary part of astronomy and astrophysics. The lecture hall opens out into a
common students lounge and common room, keeping the feeling of interaction alive.

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Finishes and Materials
External curved walls are of Khadki stone masonry, gray slate/shahabad stones, and black granite.
External passages are of unpolished/polished marble and cement blocks. Internal rooms are of plaster
of paris with coloured distemper. Internal floors are of marble, granite. External ground covers Doob
grass lawn, crab grass, stone paving with grass joints.

Faculty Offices

About 50 cabins, groups of 6-8 cabins derive their

ventilation from open courtyards and are grouped
in linear fashion. Seminar rooms and conference
rooms for faculty are also provided in the same
wing. The director’s cabin is isolated from the rest
of the faculty.

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Instrumentation Laboratory
IUCAA’s instrumentation lab. Is set up to encourage a do-it-yourself culture in astronomical
instrumentation in the University departments and college. From simple projects like photometers
to more extensive ones like automated 14’’ telescopes.

Dining Facility

This includes a spacious dining hall for students,

faculty members and an air-conditioned VIP
dining hall for visitors, along with the adjoining
kitchen and pantry area with separate canteen
area for the staff.

Hostel Block

Rooms housing two students each with their

individual toilet and a shared balcony are
grouped around a central open to air courtyard.
The hostel block is connected to the main block
by means of a recreational lounge and connected
on the other side to the guest room block.

ANALYSIS

● Zoning ensures optimal land use, minimizes conflicts between different activities, and
contributes to the overall efficiency of the campus layout.
● The integration of the site's natural features and the consideration of its context enhance
the functionality of the campus and contribute to a harmonious relationship between the
built environment and the surrounding landscape.
● Building placement reduces potential issues such as light pollution, ensuring that each
structure's location is optimized for its intended purpose and scientific requirements.
● Future expansion approach ensures that IUCAA Pune's architecture can adapt to evolving
research needs without compromising the integrity of the existing infrastructure, reflecting a
commitment to long-term planning.
● This zoning enhances IUCAA's commitment to creating an environment that minimizes
external disturbances.
● The incorporation of sustainable elements demonstrates a commitment to environmental
responsibility, aligning with global efforts towards eco-friendly architecture and creating a
holistic and balanced environment.

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Comparative analysis:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1R0OM7uhgbNDeOZwoMyPSpqS-k-5RH3Ybqj4jwR
indSU/edit?usp=sharing

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