The 80,000-square-foot Integrative Genomics Building in Berkeley, Calif., is the new home of two existing Department of Energy research programs that had previously been located in off-site leased space: The Joint Genome Institute (JGI) in Walnut Creek, Calif., and the Systems Biology Knowledgebase (Kbase) in Emeryville, Calif. The JGI and KBase programs include research initiatives in bioenergy, carbon cycle, biogeochemistry, and systems to promote computer modeling of gene and protein functions, and their consolidation increases efficiencies and scientific synergies.
New research facility aims to support scientists’ wellness
Photo: Bruce Damonte
Designed by SmithGroup, San Francisco, the four-story research and office building accommodates approximately 300 researchers and staff, and includes wet and dry laboratory space, office space for researchers and program managers, a computation center, and warm and cold rooms for research.
“Research facilities must include safety, robust infrastructure and operational flow, but also balance the human experience by supporting functionality and aesthetics,” explains Suzanne Napier, FAIA, LEED AP, vice president, science and technology studio leader at SmithGroup. “Creating a comfortable and safe working environment for scientists is a fundamental driver in our process of developing a design. But also supporting the scientists’ wellness, access to daylight and views, creating places for engagement and collaboration are equally critical for a successful project.”
Photo: Bruce Damonte
A Delicate Balance
According to Napier, the overall goal is to enhance the human experience by balancing functionality and aesthetics. As such, the design concept holistically integrates massing and site orientation, daylighting, facade and MEP system design, as well as program placement, resulting in a cohesive confluence of these principles.
The building is two rectilinear volumes stacked one on top of the other. The two lower-level floors contain the laboratories, allowing for direct access to service deliveries to enhance the flow of samples through the lab. The lower levels also have the best vibration control to support the lab requirements, and the MEP systems are separate so the lab functions can receive air supply directly from the first floor where the main air handlers are placed.
The office, collaboration and conference spaces are on the two upper levels of the rectilinear volume and rotated to align true east-west for the best solar orientation. “These program functions are housed within a long-spanned truss system, which allows for no internal columns providing long-term planning flexibility,” Napier explains. “Having the massing be longitudinal in the east-west direction minimized the western facade which attains high afternoon heat gains. The southern facade is protected through horizontal windows covered by solar shading elements.”
The building massing exposes the lab and office program functions resulting in architectural clarity. “This was driven by an integrated approach where mechanical systems, vibration control, service flow, site response, efficiency and function drove the massing concept,” says Napier. “The building was formed and placed at the furthest southern portion of the large site to also allow for maximum future development to the north along the rest of the Bayview site.”
Photo: Bruce Damonte
Durable Materials
The project goals required a long-lasting, 50-year facility, requiring the use of durable materials. Additionally, the existing buildings on the campus consist of metal, concrete and glass, allowing for a compatible and complementary palette by continuing those materials. “The materials also represent current modern aesthetics, which embodies clean edges that create an industrial aesthetic while engaging strong connections to the natural world,” adds Hiroko Miyake, RA, LEED AP, design principal at SmithGroup. “Metal and glass are technologically clean in detail aligning with the technologies of scientific discovery.”
The project features 81,000 square feet of two systems. The first is a rout-and return dry gasket rainscreen system from Elward Systems Corp., Lakewood, Colo., with Davidson, N.C.-based 3A Composites USA Inc.’s Alucobond aluminum composite material panels in Pittsburgh-based XL Silver with a clear top coat and PPG Industries Inc.’s Duranar XL Charcoal Metallic Grey without a top coat. Additionally, CENTRIA, Moon Township, Pa., supplied its 22-gauge corrugated panels in zinc-coated galvanized steel with a Fluorofinish Versacolor Elite AM Fluoropolymer coating in XL Silver.
As Lily Lai, LEED AP, technical leader at SmithGroup, explains, one of the challenges with the project was keeping a balance between the required effectiveness and efficiency with material selection and detailing while keeping costs in mind. For example, she explains, a design preference was to have the metal panel palette utilizing two complementary yet contrasting colors to enforce the horizontal connector wrapping across the facade. “So, a standard metal color in silver was selected for the smaller quantities to not incur a custom upgrade in pricing. For the larger quantity of metal panel (represented in the darker charcoal grey), the quantities were substantial enough to not incur an upcharge for the custom color.”
Additionally, she adds, the interest to rotate the panels for visual effect of more joint patterning was preferred to further contrast the variation between the silver- and charcoal-colored panels. “Since continuous directional coil coating has a consistent visual effect, this rotation of panel further emphasized the contrasting variation in a cost-effective way.”
The design team also wanted to make the most efficient use of material with minimum waste, so they selected a standardized dimension for the material maximizing it to a 15-foot-long by 5-foot-wide panels typically. “This results in a flat surface with no visible buckling or waving of material,” Lai explains.
Photo: Bruce Damonte
DNA Helix
The metal panel expresses a DNA helix movement in two contrasting metals. “By folding metal horizontally, it creates depth in the facade,” Miyake says. “This comes with sustainable benefits by acting as a shading device to mitigate solar heat gain and glare control.”
The metal panels are customized to a dark charcoal tone that blends well into the natural setting. “The selected metal panel systems are compatible in color with the curtainwall mullions, exterior shading devices, exterior stairs and large metal soffit creating a cohesive material palette,” Miyake adds. “The panels are a cost-effective solution allowing depth in the facade to give an authentic performance benefit. The metal material is flexible in shape allowing for a volumetric design with a small material palette while still achieving strong artistically expressed architecture.”
Gold Standard
Since laboratory facilities require considerable amounts of energy to cool and support the heavy equipment loads, any sustainable energy measures to reduce usage can result in a positive impact on the overall energy grid demands, Lai explains. “Not only does LEED Gold accreditation support this improvement, it also positively affects other components of a building. Measures such as access to daylight and views, material selections to reduce volatile or toxic materials make for a healthier environment. In California, reduction in water use has also become critical due to our local droughts. A LEED Gold building allows the building users to feel good about the building in which they work.”