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Project: The Robert R. Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory*
Client: Cornell University and the National Science Foundation
Location: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

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The overall design of the complex places 20 percent of the facilities above ground and 80 percent below. The first level of the six-story equipment tower contains the linear accelerator injection device that gives the electrons their initial push, while the remaining five levels house power equipment and cooling systems. The synchrotron magnet ring emerges from the tunnel into the 10,000-square-foot experiment hall. Adjacent to the hall is a three-story laboratory and office wing that supports work directly related to the synchrotron. The irradiated areas in the structure’s lowest level are the only ones that required the more expensive high-density concrete shielding.

Results
The close collaboration between architect and scientist led to a technologically elegant and economical design solution for a complex facility. Their innovative use of tunneling, rather than digging and backfilling, to create the accelerator ring kept costs down. And the placement of most facilities underground allowed Cornell and the NSF to locate this expansive complex among other campus buildings rather than at a remote site.



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* The design contract for construction of the facility was awarded to William M. Brobeck and Associates, Mechanical Engineers, of Berkeley, California. Associated with Brobeck were Ian Mackinlay Associates, which provided the architectural design; Jacobs Associates, which handled the tunnel design; and Pregnoff and Matheu, which produced the structural design.