Learning From Bell Labs

The legendary crucible of innovation suggests a path for enabling scientific breakthroughs.

At the University of Connecticut’s Tech Park, the Innovation Partnership Building is designed to promote the type of collaboration that characterized Bell Labs in its heyday. Photo © Magda Biernat

The physical environment can serve to not only attract the best and brightest, but to also foster interaction and groundbreaking collaboration between them.

A postcard view of the Bell Labs campus in Murray Hill, New Jersey.
The Hess Center’s vertical interaction network facilitates collaboration among a multidisciplinary research community. Image © SOM
A glass-enclosed stair connects the duplex research neighborhoods at Mount Sinai’s Hess Center. Photo © Eduard Hueber | archphoto
The lobby at UConn’s Innovation Partnership Building provides a welcoming and informal gathering space. Photo © Magda Biernat
Embedded in the R&D program, the cafe at UConn’s Innovation Partnership Building is a relaxed social hub. Photo © Magda Biernat
Informal collaboration spaces at the IPB extend beyond its walls: balconies and other outdoor amenities make the most of the building’s magnificent setting. Photo © Magda Biernat
At the New National Cancer Institute, public and staff corridors frame views above a central courtyard. Image © SOM | ATCHAIN
This exploded axonometric diagram isolates the various components of the New National Cancer Institute campus, including the dedicated circulation spines for visitors and staff. Image © SOM
The staff corridor at the New National Cancer Institute will bring colleagues together in a bustling, light-filled space. Image © SOM

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We are a collective of architects, designers, engineers, and planners building a better future. To learn more, visit www.som.com.

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We are a collective of architects, designers, engineers, and planners building a better future. To learn more, visit www.som.com.