129: All-Mass-Timber | Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex (HCIC)

In this episode, Cherise is joined by returning guest Vladimir Pajkic, Partner from ZGF Architects, a firm with multiple offices across North America and over 750 staff. They discuss the Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex (HCIC) at Oregon State University.

At the north edge of Oregon State University’s historic campus, a new landmark for innovation is taking shape. The Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex is a 143,000-square-foot facility designed to transform how OSU approaches science, research, and collaboration. The building is also making history as the first all-mass-timber experimental laboratory in the U.S. that meets a demanding 2000 MIPS vibration criterion.

Photos/Drawings/Supplemental Info:

• Renderings: BRICK Visual


• Headshot: Patrizia Montanari

Vlad Pajkic (pie-keesh), Partner, ZGF

Vladimir Pajkic has extensive international experience envisioning and executing high-profile projects across a variety of building typologies, with an emphasis on research buildings for both academic and private clients.

He has also led the design on mixed use, urban design, master planning, museums, high-rise, and hospitality projects.

Vladimir joined ZGF following over a decade with Herzog & de Meuron, where as a partner, his experience includes projects in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Originally from Croatia, Vladimir earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University, with studies abroad in China, Rome, and Scandinavia.

He is a recipient of numerous academic awards and fellowships and has lectured at universities across Europe, North and South America.

Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex, Oregon State University

The Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex at Oregon State University (OSU) is designed as a catalyst for the university’s science programs that will foster the collaboration among faculty, students, and the private sector.

The 143,000 SF facility will feature one of the nation’s most advanced supercomputers and it will be the first all-mass-timber laboratory in the US that meets rigorous vibration criteria (2000 MIPS) for experimental research labs.

The complex will be a dynamic home for team-based transdisciplinary research and a teaching center.

The three-level building features flexible experimental and computational laboratories, a 12,000 SF clean room, undergraduate student programed space, and cross-functional collaborative spaces designed for advanced research.

The complex provides space for specialized research to solve critical challenges facing the world in areas such as climate science, clean energy and water resources.

The building has the potential to be net zero operational carbon by 2030. As part of the 2025 Path to Carbon Neutrality, the complex supports the university’s desire to meet bigger campus sustainability goals in a way that integrates science, performance, and high design aspirations.

The complex creates a new gateway to the north edge of campus, sited within the university’s National Historic District between the engineering district and a retail/residential area. The building is designed to integrate into campus architecture and create a connection between the university and the community of Corvallis. The design team analyzed the surrounding context to create a pedestrian-friendly environment and keep the scale and massing compatible with the proportions and scale of surrounding buildings and the town.

Decarbonization efforts have been a challenge with experimental research buildings. Using timber in this building type has been limited thus far by the structural vibration criteria of 2000 MIPS. The Huang Complex is the first building to respond to this by using a unique structural solution with mass timber columns, beams, and a composite deck (CLT + concrete topping slab). This innovation reduces embodied carbon emissions by 108% over a traditional all-concrete approach; provides the structural stability necessary for the use of sensitive equipment—and results in beautiful interiors.

Harvesting heat from the supercomputer to heat the complex, with the potential to heat adjacent buildings in the future—provides significant cost savings for the university over time, accelerating OSU’s sustainability goals. Additional energy-efficient strategies and operational savings include PVs, high performance envelope, and cascading air.

A $50 million gift to the OSU Foundation from the NVIDIA founder and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang and his spouse, Lori—both College of Engineering graduates—emphasizes the importance of the sciences and STEM research and increases OSU’s support for Oregon’s semiconductor and technology industry. Regionally sourced mass timber (including some from OSU managed forests) is a sustainable choice leveraging OSU’s College of Forestry and the local timber industry’s expertise in wood and forestry practices. A collaboration that resulted in the project attaining certification for use of MPP for structural members, an innovation supporting the local economy.

The design team engaged in listening sessions with several campus groups to provide a variety of spaces that make the complex welcoming for OSU’s diverse student body. Access to daylight and exposed wood structure provide warm, biophilic interiors. The supercomputer and clean room offer high transparency, visible to public spaces inside the building, while the workshop features garage doors opening to the main street—placing science on display for the entire community.

• The 143,000 SF facility will feature one of the nation’s most advanced supercomputers and it will be the first all-mass-timber laboratory in the US that meets rigorous vibration criteria (2000 MIPS) for experimental research labs.


• The building has the potential to be net zero operational carbon by 2030.


• The Huang Complex is the first building to respond to this by using a unique structural solution with mass timber columns, beams, and a composite deck (CLT + concrete topping slab). This innovation reduces embodied carbon emissions by 108% over traditional all-concrete approach


• Heat exchanger: 30,000-55,000 MMBtuh/year rejected into the atmosphere without heat recovery.


• District System: 1.3 COP of typical chiller + boiler plant configuration.

Project Team List:

• Architect: ZGF Architects


• Owner: Oregon State University


• General Contractor: Anderson Construction


• Laboratory Engineers: Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.


• MEP Engineer: Affiliated Engineers Inc.


• Civil/Structural: KPFF


• Acoustics & Vibration: Colin Gordon Associates Inc.


• Landscape: Place Studio