The University of California, Riverside’s new plant research facility, a state-of-the-art greenhouse with best-in-class research and climate control technologies, recently held its grand opening. Construction of the two-story, 30,000 sf facility was completed in 2021. It then went through two years of preparation and testing.
The facility will enable students and faculty from UCR’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) to conduct innovative studies previously unachievable at the university. Teams are currently investigating how well bees can pollinate in different climates, testing how to grow rice to withstand drought and flooding conditions, and examining how plants can serve as soil decontaminants.
The gables of the surrounding greenhouses inspired the design of the building, which is expressed in the upper-level glass roofs. The serrated concrete walls at the ground level, and the array of fans running across the structure’s south elevation complement the rhythmic quality of the upper-level greenhouses. The minimalist use of concrete, steel, and glass allows the building to display its overall function and historical connectedness. The upper level supports a compact cluster of 16 greenhouse modules, each its own independent laboratory.
The serrated concrete wall that envelops the lower-level acts as a thermal mass that stabilizes swings in internal temperature, reducing the need for mechanical air conditioning and capitalizing on the Southern California climate. Each upper-level greenhouse is encased in double-pane polarized glass, revealing the research activities taking place within.
Humidity, temperature, lighting, and other conditions can be independently calibrated in each module to mimic a diverse range of conditions. Climate control is assisted through vertical and horizontal automated shades that enable researchers to closely tune the natural light. Air-conditioning stabilizes select areas, but an evaporative cooling system covers the whole building, allowing it to maintain temperatures lower than other research greenhouses on the campus.
“We are anticipating placing priority on projects that need more specialized environment, things that need humidity and more accurate temperature control,” says Peggy Mauk, director of agricultural operations and a professor of subtropical horticulture with CNAS. According to Mauk, the facility will work well for research involving insects that need colder temperatures, plants that grow at high altitudes, or pathogens requiring tightly controlled environments. “The building is the first new plant research facility built on campus in close to 40 years,” says CNAS
Dean Kathryn Uhrich, “and is considered instrumental in maintaining UCR's continued leadership in agricultural research for the coming decades.”
On the project team:
Owner and/or developer: University of California, Riverside
Design architect: Perkins&Will Los Angeles
Architect of record: Perkins&Will Los Angeles
MEP engineer: tk1sc
Structural engineer: Coffman Engineers
General contractor/construction manager: DPR Construction
Related Stories
| Mar 11, 2011
Slam dunk for the University of Nebraska’s basketball arena
The University of Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball programs will have a new home beginning in 2013. Designed by the DLR Group, the $344 million West Haymarket Civic Arena in Lincoln, Neb., will have 16,000 seats, suites, club amenities, loge, dedicated locker rooms, training rooms, and support space for game operations.
| Feb 23, 2011
The library is dead, long live the library
The Society for College and University Planning asked its members to voice their thoughts on the possible death of academic libraries. And many did. The good news? It's not all bad news. A summary of their members' comments appears on the SCUP blog.
| Feb 11, 2011
Sustainable features on the bill for dual-building performing arts center at Soka University of America
The $73 million Soka University of America’s new performing arts center and academic complex recently opened on the school’s Aliso Viejo, Calif., campus. McCarthy Building Companies and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects collaborated on the two-building project. One is a three-story, 47,836-sf facility with a grand reception lobby, a 1,200-seat auditorium, and supports spaces. The other is a four-story, 48,974-sf facility with 11 classrooms, 29 faculty offices, a 150-seat black box theater, rehearsal/dance studio, and support spaces. The project, which has a green roof, solar panels, operable windows, and sun-shading devices, is going for LEED Silver.
| Feb 11, 2011
Research facility separates but also connects lab spaces
California State University, Northridge, consolidated its graduate and undergraduate biology and mathematics programs into one 90,000-sf research facility. Architect of record Cannon Design worked on the new Chaparral Hall, creating a four-story facility with two distinct spaces that separate research and teaching areas; these are linked by faculty offices to create collaborative spaces. The building houses wet research, teaching, and computational research labs, a 5,000-sf vivarium, classrooms, and administrative offices. A four-story outdoor lobby and plaza and an outdoor staircase provide orientation. A covered walkway links the new facility with the existing science complex. Saiful/Bouquet served as structural engineer, Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers served as MEP, and Research Facilities Design was laboratory consultant.
| Feb 11, 2011
A feast of dining options at University of Colorado community center, but hold the buffalo stew
The University of Colorado, Boulder, cooked up something different with its new $84.4 million Center for Community building, whose 900-seat foodservice area consists of 12 micro-restaurants, each with its own food options and décor. Centerbrook Architects of Connecticut collaborated with Denver’s Davis Partnership Architects and foodservice designer Baker Group of Grand Rapids, Mich., on the 323,000-sf facility, which also includes space for a career center, international education, and counseling and psychological services. Exterior walls of rough-hewn, variegated sandstone and a terra cotta roof help the new facility blend with existing campus buildings. Target: LEED Gold.
| Feb 11, 2011
Chicago high-rise mixes condos with classrooms for Art Institute students
The Legacy at Millennium Park is a 72-story, mixed-use complex that rises high above Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. The glass tower, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, is mostly residential, but also includes 41,000 sf of classroom space for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and another 7,400 sf of retail space. The building’s 355 one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom condominiums range from 875 sf to 9,300 sf, and there are seven levels of parking. Sky patios on the 15th, 42nd, and 60th floors give owners outdoor access and views of Lake Michigan.
| Feb 11, 2011
Apartment complex caters to University of Minnesota students
Twin Cities firm Elness Swenson Graham Architects designed the new Stadium Village Flats, in the University of Minnesota’s East Bank Campus, with students in mind. The $30 million, six-story residential/retail complex will include 120 furnished apartments with fitness rooms and lounges on each floor. More than 5,000 sf of first-floor retail space and two levels of below-ground parking will complete the complex. Opus AE Group Inc., based in Minneapolis, will provide structural engineering services.
| Feb 11, 2011
Four-story library at Salem State will hold half a million—get this—books!
Salem State University in Massachusetts broke ground on a new library and learning center in December. The new four-story library will include instructional labs, group study rooms, and a testing center. The modern, 124,000-sf design by Boston-based Shepley Bulfinch includes space for 500,000 books and study space for up to a thousand students. Sustainable features include geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater harvesting, and low-flow plumbing fixtures.
| Jan 21, 2011
Primate research facility at Duke improves life for lemurs
Dozens of lemurs have new homes in two new facilities at the Duke Lemur Center in Raleigh, N.C. The Releasable Building connects to a 69-acre fenced forest for free-ranging lemurs, while the Semi-Releasable Building is for lemurs with limited-range privileges.
