The expansion, located adjacent to the existing Samuel Silver Building, occupies a mountaintop site at an elevation approximately 1,000 feet above and one mile to the east of the main Berkeley campus. The site-plan strategy defines an outdoor space between the expansion and the existing building. The heart of the complex is a group of "common" rooms-a lounge, library and conference room-centrally located for users in both the old and new buildings. These rooms, along with the building's staircases and lobbies, are situated to take advantage of the panoramic view of the San Franciso Bay Area. Terraces and balconies are provided at each level.

Much of the usable floor area in the expansion consists of generic office and research space. Research spaces include dry laboratories supported by an extensive telecommunications infrastructure. Approximately one quarter of the new research space is provided with substantial plumbing and mechanical systems appropriate for a variety of yet undefined laboratory fit-outs.

The expansion also provides significant new specialized facilities. One of these is the high bay, which includes a 10-ton crane for servicing large mobile equipment such as the Infrared Spatial Interferometer, and a tower loft containing a two-ton crane for the assembly and calibration of balloon-borne instrument packages. Another two-ton crane is provided in a class 1,000 cleanroom, which is an environment appropriate for the assembly and calibration of instruments destined for space missions.

The expansion is a partially braced, partially moment-resisting steel frame supported on spread footings and drilled piers. The exterior materials include cast-in-place concrete at the lower level, exterior insulating finish system for the main laboratory and office blocks and a ribbed metal panel system for the high-bay tower and exhaust stack screens.