Daylight Meets Durability: STANLEY’s Access Innovations at New England BioLabs’ Garden Site Expansion
When ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge's client New England BioLabs’ Garden Site Facility in Ipswich, MA wanted to maximize daylight and sightlines while maintaining strict lab workflow and durability requirements, they turned to STANLEY Access Technologies to deliver durable, transparent access solutions for an innovative all-glass sliding door system.
STANLEY Access Technologies’ culture and history of innovation inform everything we do. These values help shape the work we did for the Garden Site Facility Expansion for New England BioLabs in Ipswich, MA, where transparency, durability, and public engagement all had to coexist.
The project, designed by ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge, required interior door and partition solutions that maximized daylight and sightlines while meeting the durability demands of active laboratory spaces. ARC’s principal architect, Christopher Angelakis, was searching for a solution that would allow entire openings to be filled with glass that boosted visibility between social and science areas without disrupting lab workflows. That was especially important to the client who needed to host tours for current and prospective partners.
The [STANLEY Access Technologies] door solutions here were very important for New England Biolabs to help control the flow of personnel and products through the space to allow even greater control of the lab environments.”
Along with partners among the Allegion family of brands, STANLEY Access Technologies responded with a combination of Dura‑Glide® 2000 All‑Glass sliding door systems. The All‑Glass assemblies, with shared central sidelights and transoms, opened up sightlines and kept spaces feeling transparent. Where extra protection and cleanability were required, the Dura‑Glide® 2000 units were supplied standard and then finished on site with stainless‑steel cladding applied by a third‑party fabricator.
The installed systems admit daylight deep into corridors and labs, improve visitor experience, and allow observations of scientific activity without intruding on work zones. The stainless‑steel‑clad units meet aesthetic needs, and the Dura‑Glide® 2000 systems provide reliable, low maintenance performance under frequent use. These outcomes helped the project achieve industry recognition while reinforcing New England BioLabs' brand with a tour‑ready, transparent facility.
The key to the success of this project was combining early coordination with custom product solutions. STANLEY Access Technologies helped ARC and New England BioLabs create a transparent, tour‑ready facility that reinforces the company’s brand and makes both scientific workspaces and public areas more inviting.
If you'd like to learn more about this project, check out the case study at ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge: New England BioLabs
or Watch the video here: Video
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