Quest Diagnostics has recently unveiled its new 250,000-sf laboratory facility located in Clifton, N.J. The Mark Cavagnero Associates-designed project has become the largest automated specimen testing facility in the world.
The facility incorporates automation technology at an unprecedented scale to provide more comprehensive testing offerings, quicker turnarounds, and increased capacity. The design breaks down the traditional silos between disciplines and introduces new channels for communication, bringing together clinical, laboratory, and administrative offices, which were previously housed in four different locations across the company’s campus.
The project features seamless indoor/outdoor connectivity, light-filled workstations, and large mixed-use social spaces. The central building comprises a large ground-level laboratory and laboratory support spaces. Offices and indoor/outdoor amenity spaces arranged as a linear bar are located on the second floor along the north side of the building.
A skylight-topped “communication staircase” anchors the building, providing space for cross-departmental engagement. The Oculus, a curved glass observation mezzanine, will offer staff and visitors an intimate view of lab operations without interrupting floor productivity. A high-performance glass facade reduces climate control needs and boosts energy savings while maximizing transparency and natural light. The laboratory building is joined by a five-story parking garage in an L shaped scheme that breaks down the overall scale of the site into smaller volumes and creates a welcoming entrance with an open plaza.
The project officially opened on Oct. 12.
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