Cummings Life Science Center


Cummings Life Science Center

Completed: 1973
Architect: I. W. Colburn in collaboration with Schmidt, Garden & Erikson and Harold H. Hellman
Address: 920 E. 58th St.
Google Map


Nestled among science buildings such as Hinds Laboratory for the Geophysical Sciences and the Kersten Physics Teaching Center, Cummings Life Science Center rises 11 stories above them. In order to vent the exhausted air rising from lower levels, 40 towers extend upwards along the exterior of the building. They have been compared to both a remnant of 1960s Brutalism and, with their brick-covered vent accents, a fortress-like castle in the Italian countryside.

Cummings serves as the home for the Departments of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Human Genetics. Supported by 44 environmental rooms where temperature and humidity are closely controlled, the laboratories in Cummings facilitate key research on topics including  advanced biological research.