After extensive renovation and an addition, the former Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive at the University of California, Berkeley campus reopened in May 2022 as a modern life science lab building. The brutalist-style, historically significant structure, designed by Mario Ciampi, had been vacated in 2014 after being deemed seismically unsafe. MBH Architects, first brought on for a feasibility study, designed the renovations needed to make the building well-suited for life science laboratories while preserving the structure’s historical significance.
The design for the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub includes a glass-fronted addition and two new public plazas, as well as well-equipped research space, which is often cost-prohibitive for the young companies the facility will accommodate. MBH identified four major challenges to renovating the structure to satisfy the life science requirements:
- Upgrading structural performance to the current code
- Designing a life science and coworking program to fit within the building’s irregular geometry
- Addressing life safety and substantial mechanical modernization
- Performing renovations and upgrades while preserving the building’s historical character
Seismic performance, water intrusion, and acoustic performance, were addressed while bringing the building up to code. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure was overhauled, including the replacement of existing gas service with all-electric systems. This allowed the project to achieve low EUI, operational carbon neutrality, and Net-Zero HVAC water-use, as well as to meet LEED Gold requirements. Because the building is nearly all concrete, including floors, walls, and ceilings, the team was challenged to make all upgrades, including new modern lighting while minimizing the amount of cutting of the original structure.
Programmatic elements include a laboratory, open office areas, collaboration spaces, private offices, conference rooms, an auditorium, an undergraduate program area, terraces, and public outdoor spaces. The former museum’s upper-level galleries became glass-fronted labs that overlook dramatic cantilevered ramps hanging within a sky-lit double height space. These ramps and other parts of the museum’s circulation system that once led visitors from gallery to gallery have been preserved to foster interaction between groups of people who might not otherwise have an occasion to converse. This attribute furthers the university’s goal of encouraging innovation among scientists.
To spiff up what could otherwise be sterile-looking lab spaces, the design team infused the labs with liveliness by making walls brightly colored and importing natural light by uncovering and replacing skylights that had been covered to protect artwork from ultraviolet light damage. Workspaces and common area materials provide forms that contrast and complement the original structure and provide a welcoming environment.
On the Building Team:
Architect/Designer: MBH Architects
Structural Engineer: Forell | Elsesser
MEP: PAE
Historical Consultant: Page and Turnbull
Acoustics Consultant: Salter Associates
Lab Consultant: ZGF Architects
Civil Engineer: Luk & Associates
Landscape Architects: Jett Landscape Architecture + Design
General Contractor: Plant Construction
Related Stories
Museums | May 31, 2022
University of Texas at Dallas breaks ground on new 12-acre cultural district
The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) recently broke ground on the Crow Museum of Asian Art, the first phase of a new 12-acre cultural district on campus.
Building Team | May 20, 2022
Caltech breaks ground on a new center to study climate and sustainability
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) recently broke ground on its Resnick Sustainability Resource Center.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 19, 2022
Northern Arizona University opens a new training center for its student athletes
In Flagstaff, Ariz. Northern Arizona University (NAU) has opened its new Student-Athlete High Performance Center.
University Buildings | May 16, 2022
Yale’s newly renovated Schwarzman Center enriches student campus social life
Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) recently unveiled the design of their restoration of the Schwarzman Center at Yale University, which includes dining spaces, a bar, and a food shop.
K-12 Schools | May 16, 2022
Private faculty offices are becoming a thing of the past at all levels of education
Perkins & Will’s recent design projects are using the area to encourage collaboration.
K-12 Schools | May 16, 2022
A Quaker high school in Maryland is the first in the U.S. to get WELL Gold certification
Designed by Stantec, a Quaker high school is the first in the US to receive WELL Gold certification, which recognizes a commitment to occupants’ health and well-being.
School Construction | May 11, 2022
New Digital Learning Commons at Rutgers supports doctoral programs in over 16 disciplines
The new Digital Learning Commons at the Rutgers University Archibald S. Alexander Library provides students in over 16 courses of study and four professional schools with spacious collaborative and study space.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | May 10, 2022
Designing smarter places of learning
This course explains the how structural steel building systems are suited to construction of education facilities.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | May 3, 2022
For glass openings, how big is too big?
Advances in glazing materials and glass building systems offer a seemingly unlimited horizon for not only glass performance, but also for the size and extent of these light, transparent forms. Both for enclosures and for indoor environments, novel products and assemblies allow for more glass and less opaque structure—often in places that previously limited their use.
Education Facilities | May 2, 2022
Texas School for the Deaf campus gateway enhances sense of belonging for deaf community
The recently completed Texas School for the Deaf Administration and Welcome Center and Early Learning Center, at the state’s oldest continuously operating public school, was designed to foster a sense of belonging for the deaf community.
