2025 East Best Projects
Award of Merit, Higher Education/Research, Award of Merit, Safety: L’Oréal Research & Innovation (R&I) Center
L’Oréal Research & Innovation (R&I) Center
Clark, N.J.
Award of Merit, Higher Education/Research, and Award of Merit, Safety
Submitted by Structure Tone
Owner/Developer: L’Oréal USA
Lead Designer: The S/L/A/M Collaborative
Construction Manager: Structure Tone
Civil Engineer: Bohler Engineering
MEP Engineer: AKF Engineers LLP
The nearly 250,000-sq-ft research center brings more than 600 previously dispersed employes together in a facility with cross-laminated timber decking, a first for several of the project’s trades.
Because the mass timber system’s Canada-based contractor required that all duct and pipe penetrations more than 3 ft be performed by its own workers, the project team eliminated the need for that extra cost by coordinating all building systems prior to plank fabrication.
To keep the project on schedule, the complicated process of staining the panels’ exposed undersides was performed after installation of the building infrastructure, with most of the exposed steel hand-painted to avoid discoloring the decking. The project also boasts 10,000 solar panels that provide 70% of the center’s energy at peak consumption.
An eco-retention pond collects and stores rainwater, and more than 100 native plants, bat houses and beehives support local ecosystems.
The team developed and implemented stringent safety protocols and strategies designed to mitigate risks and exposures before they appear. All scopes of work were routinely assessed for hazards.
Monthly safety audits were performed by both Structure Tone and L’Oréal’s EHS team to identify active and upcoming hazards on the project site. Safety scores were distributed, mitigation plans were implemented and corrective action plans developed.
The project had no lost-time accidents or recordable incidents during 25,000 worker hours.
