University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Aquaculture and Restoration Ecology Lab

Cambridge, Maryland

Firm

DMJM Design

Client

University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Area

62,800 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$17,250,000

Completion Date

11/2003

This new 62,800-square-foot research and post-graduate education facility reaffirms Maryland’s reputation as a leader in ecology and estuarine science. The nation’s only university research facility dedicated to restoration ecology that integrates aquaculture approaches with ecosystem science, the facility is producing effective, environmentally sustainable strategies for coastal environments.
To provide the center with comprehensive, adaptable research space, the architect designed the facility to supply large quantities of both natural salt and fresh water. The center uses climate controls that can simulate any season of the year on demand. With more than six miles of aquaculture piping throughout the building and one of the largest quarantine laboratories on the East Coast, the new building provides space for the aquaculture program. This includes oyster culture and finfish hatcheries and laboratories; algae-growth facilities to nourish oysters; research laboratories for the microbiology/microbial ecology program, the nutrient chemistry/water quality program, and the submerged aquatic vegetation and salt-marsh- restoration ecology program; and a distance-learning center with conference facilities.