Tata Hall for the Sciences is a new state of the art research and teaching laboratory at UC San Diego. Together with our engineers, CO Architects developed energy conservation strategies to reduce the building’s overall energy consumption. As laboratories are one of the most energy intensive building types – and are operational 24 hours a day – efficiencies can yield huge reductions in the building’s carbon footprint.
Contemporary research engages teams of researchers working together to solve complex problems. Today’s laboratory facilities bring different scientific disciplines under one roof to create opportunities for collaboration and cross-disciplinary discovery. Yet physical laboratory space requirements often vary greatly among the disciplines, resulting in unique challenges in laboratory planning and programming.
CO Architects and MATT Construction have partnered together to create an efficient design-build project delivery method built on trust, transparency and flexibility. This collaboration has produced specialized laboratories at Caltech that are innovative and dynamic for the unique researchers. The design-build partnership allows for easy communication, a quick schedule and complex design opportunities that ultimately produces successful, well-executed design and construction.
Associate Principal and Senior Laboratory Planner Jennifer Swedell recaps her first day with CO and the growth of the Freshman Research Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin.
The newly completed Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building on the Phoenix Biomedical Sciences Campus advances the desert vernacular of its predecessor and neighbor, the CO-designed Health Science Education Building (HSEB). While the copper facade is the most visible sustainable measure, this LEED Silver-certified building features a multitude of innovative sustainable technologies and designs.
The SSPI project at Caltech is a highly successful example of how a WWII-era building, which had supported Cold-War engineering research, was adapted to the needs of modern interdisciplinary research, merging satellite technology and sustainable energy systems.
Driven by his interest in understanding processes and tools used to construct the buildings we design, designer Chris Kaiser reached out to our contractor at the Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building in Phoenix, to arrange a climb up a tower crane and experience it first-hand.
