“Why not group together folks with the same broad goals – give them space to interact and let them apply diverse tools and approaches to the biggest problems of our age?”
LEED Platinum certification. UCI is a LEED champ, with 20 Platinum and 10 Gold buildings – among the most for new construction at any U.S. college campus.
Expanding a History of Innovation There are wet and dry laboratories, lab support spaces, research offices, and formal and informal interaction nooks. The labs have been designed to be flexible, so they can adapt to changes over the lifetime of the edifice. Collaborative areas can be found throughout the building, giving faculty and students choices: They can talk quietly or convene in larger groups. The outdoor courtyard is a two-story hub that links floors and also promotes chance encounters. “The lobby and colloquium room will be lively with events, speakers and research poster presentations,” Pratt says. “The fourth-floor outdoor
terrace has a sliding wall that opens to conference rooms – another space that will encourage events and interactions among researchers.” While the exterior of the building blends well with other nearby structures, it has distinct façades and is made up of a combination of materials that respond to specific environmental conditions, thus optimizing daylight, internal temperatures and energy efficiency. The project used UCI’s Smart Labs design system, resulting in a structure that’s expected to outperform the California Energy Code by more than 50 percent. Not surprisingly, ISEB is on track for
A key hope is that ISEB will help transform the discovery of knowledge into the application of that knowledge. “It’s a very exciting development in the evolution of UCI as a major research university,” says Pramod Khargonekar, vice chancellor for research. “To me, research is more than space, more than dollars. It’s really about what we choose to work on and how colleagues from different disciplines can work together to solve critical problems, with the ultimate goal of advancing your society. We will focus on major problems in the fields of energy, water, climate, environment and health.”
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