New Koffman Southern Tier Incubator
The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator is a 35,000 square foot facility designed to provide entrepreneurs and startup companies with the knowledge, resources, and environment they need to build sustainable businesses. Developed in partnership with Binghamton University and SUNY Broome, the incubator includes offices, high tech labs, wet labs, dry labs, coworking spaces, and common areas that encourage collaboration while supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the Southern Tier. Every inch of the building has been thoughtfully designed to provide working spaces that inspire individuals and companies to create and develop transformational, innovative products and ideas. It is ideally positioned to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem being developed across the Southern Tier.
The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator has become a beacon for downtown Binghamton’s resurgence by reenergizing a vacant brownfield site and establishes a powerhouse of intellectual energy in the urban core. The building invites community engagement through a series of meeting and forum spaces located within and adjacent to the central hub. Accessible through the porous, visually-open street frontage which showcase the activity inside, the building reintroduces an active street frontage within the neighborhood.
A flexible business incubator designed to foster collaboration, support entrepreneurs, and strengthen the Southern Tier's innovation ecosystem.Client
Binghamton University Foundation
Location
Binghamton, New York
Services
Architecture, Interior Design, and New Construction
Size
35,000 sq ft
Impromptu meetings and idea sharing can happen anywhere, at any time. Business incubators need to be able to encourage that. Careful attention was paid to the distribution and design of collaboration spaces throughout the building to promote interaction between tenants. The layout of the labs allows businesses to expand or reduce their space in alignment with their needs, while modular casework and fixtures can be installed immediately or adapted over time depending on tenant requirements.
A pioneering, dynamic environment, dubbed the Sandbox, is nestled into the top floor of the building. Filled with flexible furniture, breakout spaces, stimulating finishes, vibrant colors, and a coffee bar, the Sandbox facilitates innovation and idea sharing amongst a new generation of entrepreneurs. The concept of connection is further strengthened by the vibrant colors radiating from the building's central spine, the dramatic wood slat system cascading through the monumental stair, and expansive views that connect occupants to both the city and the surrounding landscape.
Designed for Collaboration
The building was thoughtfully positioned to reestablish the street edge, conceal parking behind the building, maximize solar orientation, and accommodate future expansion. Sustainable and passive strategies employed in the development of the building exterior include optimal solar orientation, airtight envelope, vegetated roofs, and photovoltaic arrays. Carefully designed window openings, in combination with sloped ceilings and light shelves allow much of the building to be daylit.
Efficiencies employed in the building mechanical systems include geothermal well field and associated heat pump system for the building mechanical system, as well as a preheat wall spanning a large portion of the southern elevation ducted to the building distribution system. All electrical fixtures in the building will be Energy-Star compliant and utilize natural lighting and occupancy sensors to the greatest extent possible to minimize electrical loads.
High-Performance Design
