During this time the study of marine science has evolved into a highly interdisciplinary research field with faculty from other areas including biology, geology, ecology, chemistry, materials engineering, oceanography, environmental science, and public policy. The collaboration of these diverse disciplines has had to overcome physical limitations as they have been widely scattered among academic buildings across the campus until recently.

The $25-million Marine Science Building (MSB) is designed to accommodate the continued growth and expansion of activities in ocean sciences and educational outreach. The four-story, 62,000-sf facility contains teaching and research labs, faculty and departmental offices, conference facilities, and support areas.

MSB is a wedge-shaped building with an open-air courtyard in the center. Two sides of the building feature an auditorium and four floors of office space. The third wing contains labs on the first three floors and offices on the fourth floor. The 90-seat auditorium is fully equipped with multimedia technology to host educational activities, community outreach, and scientific conferences. The courtyard provides a convenient gathering space. Open walkways and bridges between the floors increase visibility of the faculty and students, and encourage chance meetings and informal interaction.

Six seawater work rooms are located on floors one, two and three. MSB's proximity to the Santa Barbara Channel enables seawater to be pumped directly to the laboratories. Four temperature controlled environmental rooms are used for conducting studies that require carefully controlled environments, including studies that duplicate arctic conditions. A hazardous materials room on the first floor stores larger quantities of chemicals. Specialized equipment is located in the labs and common support areas throughout the building. Three conference rooms are also available in MSB.

LEED® Green Building efforts include renewable energy sources, reduction of CFCs in HVAC equipment, natural ventilation of offices, water-efficient landscaping, reclaimed water for landscape irrigation, and easy access to alternative transportation.

Project Information
Building Owner:		University of California, Santa Barbara
Building Location:		Santa Barbara, California UNITED STATES
Project Type:		New Construction
Principal Building Function:		Marine science research
Project Delivery Method:		General Contractor
Project Timeline		Sep 1992 Planning Start Jul 1993 Design Start Oct 2002 Construction Start Jul 2004 Completion Last known status: Completed
Project Cost:		$25,057,000
Construction Cost:		$17,828,000
Cost Per Sq. Ft:		$285
		About These Cost Figures
Building Information
Project Includes:		Auditorium Biology Chemistry Conference Room Ecology Education Education: Biology Education: Chemistry Education: Classroom Environmental Science Geology Laboratory Laboratory: Chemistry Laboratory: Dry And Wet Laboratory: Teaching Office: Administrative Office: Researcher
Total GSF:		62,006
Project Team
Architect		Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP
Consultant - Cost Analysis		Davis Langdon Adamson
Profile Created 11/01/2005
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.