It's a Beautiful day in the (Science) Neighborhood

Way over on east campus, basically on Route 1, Princeton is putting the finishing touches on The. Biggest. Campus. Building. Ever. The 265,000 square foot steel and glass giant will be the new home for the university's chemistry department.  Last friday, Senior Project Manager James Wallace estimated that the chemistry facility is about 80 percent complete.Slated to open next fall, the new alchemy abode is the latest addition to Princeton's new "Natural Sciences Neighborhood." Quiet, with an ultra-low crime rate, this new hamlet is home to the Biology, Geosciences, Mathematics, Physics, and Astrophysics departments.  These departments will soon be joined by Chemistry, Neuroscience, and Psychology. Too much fun for main campus, Princeton has moved the neighborhood totally off campus and across Washington Street.  But, don't worry! They're going to be connected by this sick bridge.What have London-based Hopkins Architects stuffed inside these humongous headquarters?  A description of facilities that would make Marie Curie tear up-- after the jump:Princeton's Town Topics reports:"Inside the labs, every researcher has a desk, fume hood, and length of bench to conduct experiments. The building is equipped with 200 research fume hoods and 180 teaching and student fume hoods that operate slightly differently. The research fume hoods are highly efficient, with infrared sensors that determine amount of activity at the hood, with the sash dropping automatically if the researcher moves away from the space."A tunnel from the chemistry building will also connect to Jadwin Hall and the Department of Physics through the basement level.  So just in case the friendly "Science Neighborhood" becomes the "Science (Fume) Hood" you won't even have to walk outside.image source: www.towntopics.com