J. Craig Venter Institute La Jolla

The J. Craig Venter Institute in La Jolla is home to 125 researchers and staff dedicated to genomic research involving infectious disease, microbial and environmental genomics, plant genomics, and synthetic biology and bioengineering. It is located on the campus of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), to take advantage of collaboration opportunities with scientists from UCSD, Scripps, and others.

A laboratory wing and an office/administrative wing enclose a central courtyard, which is shaded by the photovoltaic panels overhead. Level One contains open offices, as well as wet bench and computational laboratories, with laboratory modules organized in neighborhoods. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow wet-lab and dry-lab researchers to see each other across the courtyard. Administrative and senior research offices are on Level Two, and Level Three contains the public spaces, including a large conference room.

The building is designed to be net-zero energy and carbon neutral, with no water runoff.

Sustainability features include:

• Recycled fly ash (30 percent) and local aggregates used in the concrete;
• Wood certified by Forest Stewardship Council;
• Natural daylighting and LED lighting;
• Operable windows;
• Electricity from two arrays of roof-top photovoltaic panels, comprising 26,124 sf of photovoltaic surface across 1,488 SunPower^® E20/327 panels;
• Storm water and condensate are captured for re-use;
• Green roofs mitigate building temperature and storm water runoff;
• Native low-water landscaping;
• Two hot and cold thermal energy storage tanks, each holding 25,000 gallons;
• Aircuity^® system drops air changes in unoccupied labs to 2 ACH;
• Most of the freezers are collocated in a single room cooled with a water-cooled system that consumes less energy than air cooling.