Historic restoration efforts focus on preserving key historical aspects of the building such as its Beaux-arts exterior and the entry lobby, which is distinguished by columns, lattice girders and skylight domes. In addition, restoration efforts focus on returning the building's interior light courts to their original function. The light courts had been filled-in during an aggressive 1940's remodeling effort.

Much of the project focuses on the seismic strengthening of the building, since it is located near the Hayward fault. After reviewing a range of seismic strengthening systems, the university decided to base-isolate the entire building. This solution provides the seismic improvements necessary to protect the building and its occupants and minimized the impact of the seismic strengthening on the historic fabric of the building.

The building houses the department of materials science and mineral engineering, containing research and teaching laboratories, faculty and graduate student offices, classrooms and administrative and support spaces. Using a modular system, the laboratories are designed around a logical reflection of the science and engineering functions as opposed to the ownership of space. This is done to create more opportunities for student and faculty interaction in technical spaces. A 10' x 24' module is used for wet lab bench layouts. These labs provide ample space for a flexible laboratory furniture system and five-foot wide aisle within the lab. For teaching and research requiring more need for apparatus and instrument space and less bench space, a 15' x 32' module is used. This module accommodates a wide range of floor-standing apparatus that can be located within the lab as well as freestanding electronics racks, computer workstations and ancillary apparatus.

Project Information
Building Owner:		University of California, Berkeley
Owner Contact:		Rob Gayle, Project Manager
Building Location:		Berkeley, CA UNITED STATES
Project Type:		Expansion,Renovation
Principal Building Function:		Material Sciences and Mining Engineering Laboratories
Project Delivery Method:		Bid
Project Timeline		May 1996 Planning Start Jul 1996 Design Start May 1998 Construction Start Nov 2000 Completion Last known status: Completed
Project Cost:		$62,000,000
Construction Cost:		$46,500,000
Cost Per Sq. Ft:		$338
		About These Cost Figures
Building Information
Project Includes:		Education: Administration Education: Classroom Education: Faculty Office Engineering Laboratory: Research Laboratory: Teaching Materials Science Office: Researcher
Total GSF:		137,000
Total NSF:		72,000
Efficiency:		53%
Building Population:		250
People Density:		549 gsf/person
Building Services:		Dl, N2, CA, PCW, HW/CW, Telecom
Special Equip:		SEM, TEM, class 100,000 clean room, Laser Suite
Office Size:		150 NSF
Power Req:		7-12 watts/nsf
HVAC Req:		4 cfm/nsf and 2.7 cfm/nsf
Structure/Foundation:		Base isolation
Laboratory Parameters
Lab Module:		10' x 24' and 15' x 32'
Casework Mat'l:		Steel, epoxy countertops and sinks
Fume Hoods:		48: 6'
Project Team
Consultant - MEP Engineer		Affiliated Engineers Inc. (AEI)
Profile Created 11/01/2000
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.