The facility is a 180,471-gsf, six-story building with a 15,000-sf vivarium and a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance suite for two 900Mhz magnets located in the basement. The vivarium is serviced by a dedicated elevator with corresponding clean and dirty sides. Proximity to the NMR is important because the NMR relies on animals that are housed in the vivarium. The portion of the facility housing the NMR is an air supported structure. This type of space is ideal for most magnetic research because there are no ferrous materials within the range of the magnets and the calibration is much easier.

The research laboratories are located on levels two through six and are blocks of contiguous laboratory space that can be maintained as open laboratory space and assigned by bench, or subdivided by walls, with our without doors, to form individual research spaces of different sizes. The Natural Sciences building also includes a large program for undergraduate teaching labs located on the first and second floors. Access to the research labs in the upper areas of the buildings are protected by card keys. In the L-shaped plan, the labs flank one of the walls, lab support is in the middle, and offices are on the other wall. The labs contain movable casework with overhead services delivered to the benches.

The mechanical system is integrated into the design as an architectural element: A silo outside the building serves as the air intake for the mechanical room, all the makeup air for the exhaust, and supply air for the building. The silo is located at the opposite end of the loading docks so that air from the trucks is not pulled into the system.

Project Information
Building Owner:		University of California, San Diego
Owner Contact:		M. Boone Hellman, FAIA, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Campus Architect
Building Location:		San Diego, California UNITED STATES
Project Type:		New Construction
Principal Building Function:		Laboratory, teaching, and office space for biology, chemistry, and physics
Project Delivery Method:		Lump Sum
Project Timeline		Jun 2003 Completion Last known status: Completed
Project Cost:		$55,000,000
Construction Cost:		$48,456,000
		About These Cost Figures
Building Information
Project Includes:		Biochemistry Biology Chemistry Education Education: Biology Education: Chemistry Education: Physics Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory Laboratory: Chemistry Laboratory: Dry And Wet Laboratory: Research Laboratory: Teaching Office: Administrative Office: Researcher Research Vivarium
Total GSF:		180,471
Efficiency:		58%
Building Population:		500
Building Services:		Hot and cold water, industrial hot and cold water, DI water, vacuum, gas
Special Equip:		Vivarium tunnel washer, autoclaves, NMR
Power Req:		Lighting 1.7 watts/nsf Equipment 12.0 watts/nsf Power 6.6 watt/nsf
HVAC Req:		2.25 cfm/nsf
Laboratory Parameters
Lab Module:		11' x 19'
Project Team
Supplier - Casework		Fisher Hamilton
Supplier - Fume Hood Controls		Phoenix Controls Corporation
Supplier - Fume Hoods		Fisher Hamilton
Profile Created 02/09/2005
Last Updated 04/04/2006
About the Reported Cost Figures The cost figures reported are supplied by the firms that submitted these projects for publication, which in most cases are the designers or builders. Whereas these sources are intimately familiar with their projects, they may not be fully aware of the owners' finally-realized and recorded costs. In some cases, costs are truly and completely accounted for, and in others they represent a near approximation of the final costs. Costs have not been adjusted for year of construction, nor has any attempt been made to make regional cost adjustments. Further, costs are not comparable on any kind of detailed standard costing model. Hence, it is possible for the cost of one building to include a steam boiler, while the cost of a comparable building might not include the boiler, if steam is being supplied from an already existing campus grid. Or, in another case, a building might include excess boiler capacity to supply steam to another building. Some submittals include fees or unusual site improvements as part of the construction costs, which others do not.