The hillside location for the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine building at the University of California, San Francisco, presented a challenge to the Building Team of Raphael Viñoly, SmithGroup, DPR Construction, and Forell/Elsesser Engineers. The 660-foot-long serpentine-shaped building sits on a structural framework 40 to 70 feet off the ground to accommodate the hillside’s steep 60-degree slope, while custom earthquake isolation devices will keep tremor damage at bay by allowing 23 inches of lateral movement. To accommodate a strict schedule and budget, the Building Team saved money and streamlined construction by moving a mechanical level, originally designed to hang below the structure, to the office level to avoid construction conflicts. They also reclassified the 80,000-sf building from hazardous occupancy to business, utilizing new building codes. The $123 million project is targeting LEED Gold.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Feb 5, 2024
Top 30 Entertainment Center, Cineplex, and Theme Park Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, JLL, Nelson Worldwide, AO, and Stantec top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest entertainment center, cineplex, and theme park architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Urban Planning | Feb 5, 2024
Lessons learned from 70 years of building cities
As Sasaki looks back on 70 years of practice, we’re also looking to the future of cities. While we can’t predict what will be, we do know the needs of cities are as diverse as their scale, climate, economy, governance, and culture.
Giants 400 | Feb 5, 2024
Top 90 Shopping Mall, Big Box Store, and Strip Center Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, Arcadis North America, Core States Group, WD Partners, and MBH Architects top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest shopping mall, big box store, and strip center architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Laboratories | Feb 5, 2024
DOE selects design-build team for laboratory focused on clean energy innovation
JE Dunn Construction and SmithGroup will construct the 127,000-sf Energy Materials and Processing at Scale (EMAPS) clean energy laboratory in Colorado to create a direct path from lab-scale innovations to pilot-scale production.
Architects | Feb 2, 2024
SRG Partnership joins CannonDesign to form 1,300-person design giant across 18 offices
SRG Partnership, a dynamic architecture, interiors and planning firm with studios in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, has joined CannonDesign. This merger represents not only a fusion of businesses but a powerhouse union of two firms committed to making a profound difference through design.
Giants 400 | Feb 1, 2024
Top 90 Restaurant Architecture Firms for 2023
Chipman Design Architecture, WD Partners, Greenberg Farrow, GPD Group, and Core States Group top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest restaurant architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Standards | Feb 1, 2024
Prioritizing water quality with the WELL Building Standard
In this edition of Building WELLness, DC WELL Accredited Professionals Hannah Arthur and Alex Kircher highlight an important item of the WELL Building Standard: water.
Luxury Residential | Feb 1, 2024
Luxury 16-story condominium building opens in Chicago
The Chicago office of architecture firm Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC) yesterday announced the completion of Embry, a 58-unit luxury condominium building at 21 N. May St. in Chicago’s West Loop.
Industry Research | Jan 31, 2024
ASID identifies 11 design trends coming in 2024
The Trends Outlook Report by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is the first of a three-part outlook series on interior design. This design trends report demonstrates the importance of connection and authenticity.
Museums | Jan 30, 2024
Meier Partners' South Korean museum seeks to create a harmonious relationship between art and nature
For the design of the newly completed Sorol Art Museum in Gangneung, South Korea, Meier Partners drew from Korean Confucianism to achieve a simplicity of form, material, and composition and a harmonious relationship with nature. The museum is scheduled to open on February 14. It is the firm’s first completed project since restructuring as Meier Partners.
