Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory

Advancing Scientific Discovery Through Sustainable Mass Timber Design

Situated as a centerpiece of a seven-acre campus expansion at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, this 29,400-square-foot facility stands as a premier model for modern academic and research infrastructure. Designed by Centerbrook Architects and Planners, the three-story building provides highly adaptable laboratory and office environments dedicated to cutting-edge neuroscience research. By pairing a high-performance timber structural frame with clean architectural lines, the facility balances complex technical research needs with an inspiring, sustainable workspace.

Structural Elegance Meets Flexible Laboratory Design

The building’s structural framework relies on a regular 24’x26′ post-and-beam grid, utilizing exposed Southern Pine glulam columns and beams paired with Southern Pine Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) floor and roof panels. The exposed timber frame integrates smoothly with structural CMU walls, highlighting the warm aesthetics and natural beauty of timber joinery throughout the interior spaces. This biophilic approach not only creates a healthier indoor environment for researchers but also delivers the structural stiffness, vibration control, and long-term durability required for scientific laboratory equipment.

Project Highlights

• Precision Timber Supply: SmartLam manufactured and supplied the complete mass timber package, providing Southern Pine CLT panels and glulam beams and columns engineered for high load capacities and long-span durability.
• Early Design-Assist Synergy: In collaboration with Timber Engineering Inc., early design-assist services refined the structural connections, optimized timber member layouts, and smoothed the transition from architectural concept to fabrication.
• Turnkey Academic Expansion: The facility expands Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s research footprint across three stories of Type III-B construction, delivering multi-ply structural floor plates that support specialized lab configurations.
• Seamless Joinery Integration: The mass timber superstructure integrates directly with CMU shear walls and custom steel fasteners from Simpson Strong-Tie, ensuring simple, efficient load transfer and speed of assembly on site.

Technical Execution

Constructed under the leadership of Skanska as General Contractor, the project brought together South County Post & Beam for specialized fabrication alongside the design and engineering team. SmartLam engineered the Southern Pine CLT and glulam members to strict dimensional tolerances, allowing the timber framing to be erected cleanly and efficiently within the tight footprints of an active research campus. Completed in 2026, the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory facility stands as a benchmark for low-carbon, biophilic design in specialized educational and scientific research facilities.