Seeing the need for additional space for several of the Lab’s growing departments along with offices for many of the scientists who worked in the Demerec building, a proposal was made to renovate the structures of the original sheds and greenhouses, which after more than 80 years had been mostly abandoned and were no longer usable. Always keeping the connection to the past in mind when planning Lab improvements, the new building would keep the general outlines of the pre-existing structures while providing a new modern space. In the 1978 CSHL Annual Report, Director James Watson wrote that the new building will provide "...a still further case where the adaptive reutilization of an out-of-date building successfully allows an institution to maintain a firm connection with its past heritage."