Collision Lab at Cornell Tech

The idea behind Collision Lab at Cornell Tech is simple— get the best and brightest in the space and let their minds “collide” to create tech solutions, start-up companies, new products and so much more. Collision Lab aimed to distinguish Two Sigma Investments, an international hedge fund, as a forerunner of the innovation economy willing to invest in new ways of thinking and working.

WRNS Studio’s interior architects took inspiration from the scientific method to spur innovation between the rotating cast of engineers, students and venture-funded entrepreneurs that would be using the Lab. The simple, open layout, which pulls in views of island, river, and city, feels equals parts maker-space, student union and modern workplace.

The open interior is bisected by a central community table and sculptural acoustical canopy, designating softer and louder corners of the Lab. The layout offers areas dedicated to different ways of working. “Collision Lab plays off the two core conditions of knowledge work – the ability to interact with others in order to conceive, share, or develop information, and autonomy over the processes of one’s work,” says Christopher Brown, Marketing and Communications Manager at WRNS Studio.

Conference rooms utilise flooring in darker tones, where cornflower and fustic indigo Dye Lab carpet tiles contrast with the mottled cork wall coverings. The textile rich environment dampens sound and distinguishes independent work areas from collaborative spaces. With the elasticity and informality of a lab as the central organizing concept, this is the place to roll up your sleeves and experiment, together.