Sustainable elements of Institute for Regeneration Medicine include green roof and reduced energy load

Days after the University of California, San Francisco Institute for Regeneration Medicine (UCSF IRM) received a $34.9 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), DPR, SmithGroup and Forell/Elsesser Engineers were awarded the $85 million, 71,000-sq.-ft. design/build project, targeting Silver LEED® certification.

Perched on the steeply rolling hillside of UCSF’s Parnassus campus, the new green research facility, when complete in the fall of 2010, will support 25 UCSF scientists and their teams in their goal to understand the basic biology of stem cells and to translate those discoveries into medical therapies for presently incurable diseases and debilitating injuries. In addition to advancing the emerging field of stem cell research, the project will utilize the latest design and construction tools and methodology, including building information modeling (BIM) and integrated project delivery (IPD).

“Much like all good laboratory design, which cultivates collaboration and interaction among the building’s occupants,” said DPR’s George Hurley, “the core team is taking an integrated approach for this momentous project, drawing upon the principles of lean construction and using the latest BIM technologies to meet the schedule and budget and deliver a world-class green facility for breakthrough scientific research.”

The UCSF IRM project, designed by renowned New York architect Rafael Viñoly, is one of 12 planned facilities in California awarded funds by CIRM’s governing board, under a competitive two-stage application process that initially included 17 applications. The facility will feature wet laboratories, as well as laboratory support and office spaces, located on a series of split-level floors with terraced grass green roofs. The building also will be base isolated and seismically designed to move a maximum of 26 inches laterally during a significant earthquake with little or no damage, according to Simin Naaseh, president and CEO of Forell/Elsesser.

“The site’s sloping hillside will definitely present a challenge in the construction of the foundation system and general access to the site,” said Hurley. In addition, the team has set a goal to reduce the building’s energy load by a targeted 20 percent below California Title 24 requirements and is using energy modeling, a computer-based tool to simulate the energy use of the facility. “The energy model will allow us to create different scenarios to help the team better predict potential usage and enhance overall energy efficiency,” said Hurley.

With site preparations currently underway, the project is anticipated to break ground in September.

“This is a very challenging design concept,” added SmithGroup Principal William Diefenbach, “and the opportunity to bring it within budget for UCSF is one of the main reasons we chose to engage in this endeavor. The proposed team is a great partnership between firms and individuals based on shared values and a foundation of trust.”

Funding Stem Cell Research

The University of California, San Francisco Institute for Regeneration Medicine (UCSF IRM) is funded in part by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). CIRM was established in early 2005, following the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. The legislation provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions.

UCSF is one of 12 universities and institutions that was recently awarded a total of $271 million in funds by CIRM’s governing board. That figure, combined with an additional $560 million from those entities’ charitable donations and internal reserves, brings the total statewide investment in new stem cell research space to $831 million, according to CIRM.

CIRM also recently awarded $24 million in new stem cell research funding for development of new lines of pluripotent* human stem cells and for the planning stages of collaborative research studies aimed at driving basic research findings toward clinical applications. Of that amount, $2.6 million was awarded to eight UCSF stem cell scientists.

*Pluripotent — capable of affecting more than one organ or tissue.