Northern Crops Research Greenhouses

This state-of-the-art agricultural research building serves one of the most advanced growing facilities in the world. It also brings a fresh design vocabulary of agricultural vernacular to the campus. In addition to offices, research spaces, and laboratories, the greenhouses have sophisticated climate controls, geothermal technology, and a biosafety-managed facility for secure plant breeding, genetics, and pathology. In its assemblage of vernacular forms, utilitarian materials, and details, the building exudes more vitality in its architectural expression than the nearby blue-roofed Northern Crops Science Laboratory building (1988, HGA Architects), which also purported to draw from the vernacular of the agricultural campus context. With public areas accentuated by open atriums, the greenhouses affirm an appropriately utilitarian agricultural character.