The Gelb Center, a specialized facility for teaching college preparatory science, includes state-of-the-art chemistry, physics, and biology laboratories; classrooms; and an astronomical observatory measuring 18ft in diameter. It features exterior walls of brick with granite accents and a standing seam, zinc-tin alloy coated copper roof. On a campus rife with ledge, the Gelb site had a high level of radon, a potentially carcinogenic gas. Erland surrounded the basement of the building with an impermeable membrane that did not allow air to penetrate the slab. A back-up gas extraction system was vented through the roof. This 4-story structure houses new refrigeration equipment, and was designed to serve as a future air conditioning hub for other campus buildings.
