UC San Diego Constructs Biomedical Research Facility

The University of California, San Diego initiated construction in April of 2011 on the Health Sciences Biomedical Research Facility in La Jolla, Calif. The 196,000-sf, five-story building is located on a 3.3-acre site on the School of Medicine campus. The $105 million project was designed by ZGF Architects and is being built by McCarthy. The facility will encompass wet labs, open lab space, lab support, and administrative support space on five stories above ground, with core lab space and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems located in the basement. LEED Platinum sustainable design certification will be sought for the building, which will feature dynamic, computer-controlled exterior solar shading systems on the east, west, and south facades. Building Information Modeling (BIM) will be utilized extensively for coordination of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. KPFF Consulting Engineers of Portland and San Diego is the structural engineer. IBE Consulting Engineers, based in Sherman Oaks, is the mechanical and plumbing engineer, and Integrated Engineering Consultants of Los Angeles is the electrical engineer. Research Facilities Design (RFD) of San Diego is the laboratory planning consultant. Spurlock Poirier, also of San Diego, is the landscape architect.