Inox Supports Cutting Edge Chemistry Institution

After four years in the making, Rutgers University recently unveiled a cutting-edge chemistry institution. Built with collaborative learning in mind, HDI stair railings played an integral part in bringing the vision for the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB) building to life.

Unveiled in January 2018, the four-story, 145,000 square-foot facility includes a microscopy suite, a class 100 chemistry clean room, as well as optical/laser, mass spectroscopy, and x-ray crystallography laboratories. The space serves as home to over 5,000 Rutgers students that take chemistry courses each semester.

Funded largely by the 2012 Building Our Future Bond act, the CCB building is among the largest recipients of federal funding for chemistry research in the country.

Application:

• Support high traffic learning environment
• Custom base plate and infill

Solution:

• inox™ railing system with glass and perforated steel infill

Customized for Collaboration

HDI inox™ railings were chosen for the building’s four main stairwells, providing a crucial transitional space for the synergistic learning facility. The CCB building houses open, flexible labs and state-of-the-art core facilities as well as modern teaching, conferencing, and communal spaces that maximize collaborative interactions.

To meet the architect’s vision, HDI engineered a custom, polished steel base plate. The custom infill panels feature ½” glass and perforated stainless steel panels. The infill pairing pays compliment to the CCB building’s tiered glass plane facade.

The inox railing system is constructed with mechanical threaded connections to ensure an exact, precise, and secure fitting. All railings are fully assembled in our factory and then deconstructed into fully assembled sections to ensure efficient, error-proof installation.

The railing posts are constructed from open pairs of 304 stainless steel true bars with a brushed 240 grain finish. Post connections are side mounted. The durability of stairwell materials helped the CCB facility earn LEED Gold design status.

In addition to the four main stairwells, HDI will provide two barrier gates to ensure fire safety. The barriers, set to be installed in winter 2018, will help deter occupants from entering basement spaces in the event of a fire.

A Springboard for Science

The newly unveiled CCB classrooms and labs will serve as a springboard for future science education at Rutgers — an institution that fielded the first antibiotic to cure tuberculosis and has since expanded to conduct research in microbial, developmental, and plant molecular genetics as well as structural and computational biology.

HDI’s durable, modern, and compliant stairwell solutions will enable Rutgers to serve undergraduate and graduate students for years to come. Beyond the campus, the CCB building will enable further collaborative research with leading academic labs, federal entities, and private industry in New Jersey and across the globe.