Commonwealth Architects and associate architects The S/L/A/M/ Collaborative provided architectural and engineering services for the rehabilitation and addition to the Jepson Science Center on the University of Mary Washington’s campus in historic Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Built in 1999, the existing four-story Jepson Science Center houses the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences and Physics. Program growth is driving the need for a 40,000 square foot addition and renovation of 30,000 square feet of the existing 75,000 square foot Jepson Science Center. Classrooms, laboratories, lecture halls, computer labs and office spaces were upgraded to provide a 21st century facility fitting the needs of these STEM departments.
The overall design provided a fitting contemporary, yet compatible, home which will allow science to “be on display” via transparent glass walls and integration of sustainable technologies showcasing the sciences – all while creating a new symbolic “front door” along College Avenue incorporating native vegetation. The physical transformation of this facility aligns the building infrastructure with the teaching and research needs of the University of Mary Washington.
