The Kean University Science Research Building Addition was built to house the University’s new CRISPR research program and to provide a facility that would attract the best and brightest students, faculty, and leading research scientists to campus. The addition was designed to be the “face” of the new research program and a wayfinding point for those on campus. DRG's design accommodates the science and computer science departments while creating a collaborative, open, and interactive research environment. To help develop the design, DRG architects interviewed collaborating science departments and researched CRISPR laboratory equipment so they could build all necessary elements into the space. Project challenges included the need for the new research labs to connect to the existing science building on the second and third floors, the tightness of the site, and the need to avoid major underground campus utilities that would be very expensive to move; the solution was the design of an elevated, transparent building that didn’t visually crowd the tight space. DRG accomplished this by using a poured-in-place concrete structure supported by columns. The concrete floors were poured to align with the existing floor levels, architecturally expose the structure, and provide support. The concrete columns were placed to avoid the underground utilities and allowed foot circulation beneath the building. In addition to resulting in a visually interesting “suspended” structure, the decision to pour-in-place reduced project time and construction costs.