The School of Medicine Research Building was designed in order to attract and retain senior research faculty for the University’s new medical school. Design goals for the building sought to provide highly efficient, flexible research lab space that would exceed the energy savings of typical research labs.
Size
60,000 sf
Location
Riverside, CA
Year Complete
2011
Sustainability
LEED Gold
2012 Lab of the Year Award, Sustainability Special Mention — R&D Magazine
2012 Project of the Year for New Construction, Higher Education Category
2012 Sustainable Design and Innovation Award — Keep Riverside Clean & Beautiful
2012 Merit Award — IES National Illumination Awards
2011 Merit Award — AIA Portland Architecture Awards
2011 Award of Citation — Savings by Design Energy Efficiency Integration Awards
2011 Best Overall Sustainable Design Award — California Higher Education Energy Efficiency & Sustainability Best Practice Awards
The School of Medicine Research Building represents a new gold standard in lab buildings in the University of California system and has been recognized for best design practices in sustainability. In every aspect from its extraordinary target in energy savings for a research lab, to flexibility of program space, to creature comforts of 80% daylighting without harsh glare this project has set a new direction for labs on the campus at UC Riverside.
Don W. Caskey, FAIA, Former Associate Vice Chancellor and Campus Architect
Not a Traditional Lab Building
The School of Medicine Research Building at the University of California-Riverside provides research and office facilities for the University’s new medical school. The 3-story building is LEED Gold certified and the facility achieved the Architecture 2030 Challenge 2010 target of 60% reduction in site energy over the benchmark building. Carefully integrating function, technology and nature, the design team raised the bar in developing creative research environments that respond to both stringent research environment demands and occupant needs for natural light and indoor air quality.
An Open, Light‑Filled Interior
All occupied spaces in the building have access to daylight and most have views of the natural environment surrounding the project. The intentionally restrained material and color palette of the interior provides a quiet backdrop to this indoor-outdoor connection. Laboratory and office environments feature a generous sense of space and natural light, with 14-foot-high, exposed flat slab ceilings. The durable, exposed concrete structure is complimented by a warm aesthetic through carefully crafted wood elements. All areas feature 9-foot-high, sliding wood sunscreens designed for individual control of light and glare. Additional wood features include fixed wall panels and floating ceiling “clouds” which lend design continuity, warmth, and scale to the adaptable work spaces. At the lab suites, the notable absence of intervening doors encourages the fluid circulation of personnel and materials.
This is a modal window which overlays the main content of the page displaying linked images in a fullscreen mode. Keyboard is focused on slide controls, use left/right keys to advance slides. Pressing the Close Modal button or the Escape key will bring you back to where you were on the page.
This is a modal window which overlays the main content of the page indicating something has not loaded correctly.
Sorry. Something went wrong.
Please go back and try again, or use the main menu above.
