Built in the 1960s, Jennison Hall is the oldest and largest academic building on Bentley University's campus. This 85,000 SF laboratory and classroom renovation features state-of the-art teaching laboratory spaces for chemistry, physics, geology, and biology; as well as an adjoining dry laboratory, modeled in part after Bentley University’s popular MBA Studio. The building also features a new faculty research lab, instructional lab support spaces and office space for lab technicians. A variety of teaching spaces, including both active learning classrooms and tiered case study classrooms, are dispersed on three floors of the building. In addition, informal student gathering areas encourage social interaction and team and individual study, with large-screen monitors, white boards, and flexible furniture arrangements. On the building’s first floor, a vibrant hub for science was designed to provide a welcoming, active destination that generates interest and excitement among students who can see into the interactive labs and learning spaces. Spaces throughout the building feature transparency and flexibility, with glass walls and daylit rooms that place science investigation and teaching on display. The project was completed on a fast-track, seven-month construction schedule to minimize the time the building was out of operation. Jennison Hall embodies the latest thinking in natural and applied sciences pedagogy, while also providing adaptable infrastructure to support future flexibility and changing programmatic needs.

Robert Benson