UC San Diego Opens Viterbi Family Vision Research Center

The University of California, San Diego opened the $152 million Viterbi Family Vision Research Center in June of 2025 at the Shiley Eye Institute in La Jolla, Calif. The 100,000-sf facility was designed by NBBJ to foster interdisciplinary collaboration with wet and dry laboratories, clinical trial suites, educational facilities, and a vivarium. Supporting leading-edge research, the five-story structure will drive advances in the treatment of ophthalmologic diseases and prepare the next generation of clinician-scientists for the workforce. An office and administrative block is augmented by a conference center and a café. 

With a striking façade optimized for embodied carbon levels, cost efficiency, and thermal performance, the purpose-built development leverages modular bench systems to ensure interior work spaces remain adaptive to evolving research needs. Rudolph and Sletten broke ground on the center in April of 2023, with Buro Happold providing façade engineering services. The project team also included Mott Manufacturing, Morley Construction Company, Glassfab Tempering Services, Vitro Architectural Glass, and Architectural Glass & Aluminum.