The BioMedical Science Tower III, representing a significant advancement of the University of Pittsburgh’s scientific agenda, extends and emboldens the university’s urban campus identity. This idea of progress and cutting-edge technology carries through to the landscape, where green armatures peel away from the building face, serving as planters, walls, benches and doubling as security barriers.  At the main entrance, an armature folds down to become the tray for the Genome Stick sculpture, enlivened with light and water. This spectrum of colors stands at one edge of the site, whose groundplane and edges materially and experientially form a cohesive contemporary streetscape. 

Landworks was privileged with not only developing the site design, but with discovering the conceptual form of the entrance piece. Inspired by the human genome pattern, this illuminated sculpture is emblematic of the preeminent scientific work being done at the University of Pittsburgh. Through collaborations with Payette, this artistic gesture was turned into reality. Given this unique opportunity to “switch roles,” we developed an understanding, unique to Landscape Architects in their collaborations with artists. 

Client: University of Pittsburgh
Architect: Payette
Fountain Consultant: Dan Euser Waterworks
Construction Budget: $1,200,000 (landscape)
Status: Completed 2008