Johnson City, NY The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM)has completed the programming, planning, and design for the new $60 million, 105,000-s/f School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Binghamton University, State University of New York (SUNY), located on the 11-acre Health Science Campus being developed less than three miles from the main campus. In addition to full architectural services, SLAM provided interior design, structural engineering and landscape architecture services.  

The facility opened in fall 2018, and the team was recently awarded the 2018 AGC Excellence in Partnering Award. The project team includes the owner, Binghamton University and its Department of Physical Facilities; the client, State University of New York Construction Fund; construction management firm, LeChase Construction; general contractor, Fahs Construction; and the design team, SLAM. The team also received the 2018 Jeffrey J. Zogg Build NY Award.

“SLAM is thrilled to lead the design for this ground-up project that challenged us to create dynamic spaces for students to learn, advance research and transform the healthcare system in this region,” said Richard Polvino, AIA, principal, SLAM Boston office.

The location of the new School of Pharmacy is part of an ongoing economic development initiative launched by Binghamton University, in partnership with the Southern Tier region of New York in response to an increasing demand for pharmacy services to be added to the area’s healthcare delivery system. The new school is supporting growth in healthcare and research as well as stimulating economic development in the Upstate New York region, and has triggered significant developer interest in the adjacent properties for uses such as housing, retail and outpatient care. 

The four-story building houses state-of-the-art research and teaching labs; interactive classrooms that flex to accommodate team-based learning and smaller groups; a lecture hall; a state-of-the-art simulation lab and mock community and hospital pharmacy; a sterile compounding room; a library, faculty offices, student activity space; and appropriate support spaces. The long-term plan for this new facility includes three phases; first is the new school of pharmacy, which will accommodate approximately 360 Doctor of Pharmacy students when fully enrolled, as well as over 100 new faculty, researchers and staff; second is the addition of the existing nursing program from the main campus, and third is an expansion of the new pharmacy school with the addition of research and development facilities.

Binghamton University’s School of Pharmacy is sited on the historical grounds of the former Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company and pays homage to the former 20th-century mill building by introducing black brick to distinguish the new facility, while being reminiscent of the original red brick. The design blends non-traditional with traditional use of brick that serves as a visual remnant of the historical site. Specialty brick shapes are used extensively throughout the building façade, such as an angular stacked brick glazed corner that is designed to appear as if the brick is cut-away on an angle, alongside the big curtainwall; the corner tower is predominantly brick, harkening back to the clock tower, a focal point of the former shoe factory building; and brick along the site wall mimics the traditional foundation of the shoe company. 

SLAM has a longstanding relationship with the State University of New York System, having completed numerous projects across the state including such notable projects as the Upstate Medical University Central New York Biotech Accelerator, Binghamton University’s new Science 5 building, Buffalo State University College New Technology Building, and the University of Buffalo Kapoor Hall Renovation for the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.