Northeast Ohio Medical University Research and Graduate Education Complex

Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) is a community-based, public institution that provides interprofessional training for medical and pharmacy students in partnership with six other Ohio universities and more than 150 clinical facilities. Ellenzweig’s collaboration with NEOMED began with a multi-phased project to expand and update the research and educational facilities of the campus within the context of a 25-year master plan, also prepared by Ellenzweig.

The Research and Graduate Education Complex Project consisted of three components: the new Research and Graduate Education Building, addition and renovations to the Comparative Medicine Unit with a connecting bridge to the new research building, and renovation of Building “D” to create the REDIzone (Research, Entrepreneurship, Discovery, and Innovation)—an innovative biomedical research incubator. Program spaces include research laboratories, lab support, core labs, seminar and conference rooms, lounge, and faculty offices.

The building uses the red brick of the campus as the dominant exterior material. While blade walls effectively reduce the apparent mass of the new facility, large areas of curtainwall bring abundant natural light and views to the laboratory spaces within. A random pattern of punched windows on the south façade not only expresses the varied size and shape of the laboratory support rooms, but provides a moment of relief to the more static, geometric arrangement of windows seen in the older, neighboring buildings.