IBM Research extends Eero Saarinen's modernist campus with new Think Lab

IBM Research has opened the Think Lab, a new space within Eero Saarinen's 1961 Thomas J Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. Designed by Universal Design Studio and Map Project Office, the lab houses IBM's quantum-centric supercomputing architecture, integrating quantum and classical computing systems. The design builds on Saarinen's original vision of connectedness, forgoing a showroom format in favor of a holistic environment where equipment and research spaces fuse. Materiality aligns with the original architecture, using natural stone and concrete, while adding tactile and acoustic elements. The space is private, accessible by invitation only, and aims to make complex technologies tangible through visual, haptic, and sonic engagement. IBM's creative director Mark Podlaseck and Universal Design Studio's Satoshi Isono led the project, with research trips to Yale University's Saarinen archive. The Think Lab extends Saarinen's intent to create a place of discovery, nature, and community.