Designer of Record, Hussey Gay Bell, led the planning and A/E services for this $44M project – the largest capital expenditure in the University’s history –which consisted of design and construction of a new, 4-story state-of-the-art teaching and research facility.  The facility features 60 teaching and research labs in addition to classrooms accommodating 32-100 students, lecture halls, 46 offices and includes outdoor seating space, as well as an informal amphitheater..  Aside from general biology and chemistry labs, the center includes specialized teaching labs in soil and field biology, anatomy and physiology, infectious diseases, molecular and cellular biology, organic chemistry, problems in chemistry and biochemistry. Additional specialized labs housing instrumentation and a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, as well as a laser lab, computational center, growth room, cold room and tissue culture suite are included in the facility. Lab space is also devoted to science courses offered through Penfield College and Tift College of Education.

The existing Patterson Building was demolished to make room for the signature structure that anchors a science and innovation quadrangle incorporating School of Medicine and School of Engineering facilities, Willet Science Center, and the Mercer Innovation Center. The quadrangle is named for Mercer Alumnus and Trustee A.V. Elliott, who provided a lead gift for the project.