The University of California, Irvine has completed work on the Natural Science Unit I, a four-story, 119,000-sf facility housing laboratory, office, and classroom space for the School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Chemistry. The $54-million design/build facility will open in time for the first quarter of the school year. The building is split into two wings - a laboratory wing and a classroom/office wing. The lab wing is further divided into two large suites in order to promote research interaction among the various scientists. The laboratory suites were designed as large, open areas that provide flexibility in their use and configuration and feature auxiliary support areas in the center. The design-build team was comprised of Carrier Johnson as Architect of Record and Hensel Phelps of Irvine as general contractor, with HOK of Los Angeles performing initial design services.
