University of North Carolina
Mary Ellen Jones Research Building Renovation
Chapel Hill, NC
The 228,000 sf Mary Ellen Jones Research Building, completed in 1978, underwent a full renovation to provide new laboratories, offices, a vivarium, public spaces and collaborative amenities to support the UNC School of Medicine.
Lord Aeck Sargent’s work began with a Feasibility Study to assess potential strategies to renovate or expand the building. Following the path defined in the study, outdated and highly compartmentalized laboratories were transformed into open, flexible facilities in alignment with the dynamic, collaborative and interdisciplinary research taking place at UNC. Exterior work includes recladding a significant portion of the building with a high-performance curtainwall system—significantly enhancing the quality of the working environment and allowing for views and daylighting within interior spaces.
Research laboratories include general biomedical research spaces as well as specialized spaces such as GMP labs for the UNC Food Allergy Institute (UNCFAI), Translational Research Labs for the Computational Medicine initiative, Neurocience Center Research Labs. Two floors are dedicated to Biomedical Engineering, including undergraduate design labs. The building also includes a centralized meeting and collaboration zone.
The project is LEED Gold certified.