Duke’s programmatic and human oriented goals for the building were clear: take advantage of the location’s natural beauty; recognize that research is performed inside and outside the lab through debate and discussion; avoid an institutional feel; and embody the rustic sensibility of the original 1930s campus.

The architectural response to all these desires concentrates on social spaces. The “Collisional Commons”, coined by the then Marine Lab Director, Cindy L. Van Dover, is a spatial node where ideas from the entire marine lab community collide informally, where debate and discussion happens outside of the lab. Visually and spatially porous, the Collisional Commons opens to outdoor porches protected from seasonally shifting winds all times of day. All this while capturing amazing views of the water and the surrounding barrier islands.

The Pilkey Lab, as it is affectionally known among colleagues, is designed to have people engage with each other and with their surrounding environment.