BERKELEY, CALIF. - The
University of California, Berkeley has selected contractor
McCarthy to build the $160 million Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Services. Accommodating research into the molecular basis for disease, the facility will focus on infectious diseases, gene regulation, stem cell biology, and neurodegenerative diseases. The project architect is
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership. Construction is slated to begin in 2008 and reach completion in 2011. The Center will be designed to accelerate and foster cutting-edge multidisciplinary research and teaching in molecular disease biology. The laboratory and lab support space will be designed with a flexible layout that can easily respond to multidisciplinary research protocols and the evolving needs of modern research. The 200,000-gsf, five-story plus basement structure will house 30 research laboratories, a major new teaching lab, several lecture halls and seminar facilities, a brain imaging center, and biocontainment space.