Located on a 1.75-acre scenic coastal site at 4120 Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla, California, within the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus, the J. Craig Venter Institute is a three-storey, 45,000 square feet facility.
Designed to be the “greenest” research lab in the world, the J. Craig Venter Institute will support approximately 125 scientists and other staff in their mission to further the Institute’s goals in genomic research and policy.
The new J. Craig Venter Institute consist of a single-storey 12,605 square feet laboratory wing, a three-storey 28,600 square feet office wing, a 3,560 square feet loading dock area, and a partially below-grade parking garage.
The laboratory and office wings will sit atop the roof/podium deck of the parking garage. Exterior features include cedar wood siding, a wood window curtain wall and storefront system, metal panels, interior wood flooring, and exposed architectural concrete.
Aspiring for LEED Platinum certification, the concrete walls, columns, footings, slab on grade, slabs on metal deck, and podium deck will utilise 30% fly ash. For optimum aesthetic appeal, the exposed architectural walls and columns use Type III cement.
Other sustainable features of the project include incorporation of high performance architecture, low-energy-use systems, water conservation strategies and onsite renewable power generation. The building massing and envelope are designed to maximise the use of daylight while reducing overall building energy use.
Being net-zero for electrical energy, the building will produce as much electricity on-site as it consumes annually. This will be made possible by integrating numerous energy efficiency measures throughout the building systems, using advanced building control technologies, incorporating operable windows and efficient lighting, and reducing internal plug loads wherever possible. Apart from that the project is utilising advanced technologies like BIM, Navis Works, and Blue Beam for the electrical plan room as well as FTP sites.
The facility includes photovoltaic roof, which will provide on-site renewable energy. It also includes water conservation based on the combined strategies of infiltration and water reuse. Rainwater will be collected and stored in giant underground cisterns with a total capacity of 90,000 gallons. The water will then be filtered and reused for operation of cooling towers, toilet flushing and site irrigation. About two-thirds of the building’s water use will be supplied by rainwater.
The other sustainable elements of the project include recycled content, natural ventilation and passive cooling, low-water landscaping, high-efficiency plumbing, sustainably harvested wood, and use of regional materials.
The new J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla is expected to open in November 2013.
