Category: Institutions
Region: North America
Year: 1998
Location: EMERYVILLE CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.
FT2 Construction: 0 sq ft
FT2 Ground: 1,088,995 sq ft
Involved Areas: Master Plan, Architecture, Interior Design

Collaborators:
ARQUITECTURA Y DISEÑO DE INTERIORES: LEGORRETA^®
Ricardo Legorreta
Victor Legorreta
Noe Castro
Miguel Almaraz
Adriana Ciklik
Javier Garay
Benjamin González

Associate Architects:

Arquitecto Ejecutivo: Flad & Associates

Consultants:

STRUCTURAL DESIGN: FLAD & ASSOCIATES.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: PETER WALKER WILLIAM JOHNSON & PARTNERS
MECHANICAL DESIGN: AFFILIATED ENGENEERS, INC.
LABORATORY CONSULTANTS: EARL WALLS ASSOCIATES

Photographer:
Lourdes Legorreta


In December of 1993 Legorreta Arquitectos was commissioned by Chiron Corporation to master plan and design their new premier biotechnology research center in Emeryville, California. The masterplan encompasses a 25 acres site east of San Francisco Bay and a building plan that will accommodate design for 2.5 million square feet of research space over 15 years. Chiron’s goal was to create a stimulating and interactive working environment for staff and scientists in a campus setting that featured highly distinctive architecture. As a fast growing biotech research company, Chiron wanted the new facilities to express the vision and success of their organization and to reinforce their working philosophy and culture. The major challenge of this project was to successfully combine excellent design and functional planning in an environment that supports teamwork and that at the same time provides good communication between personnel and scientists. For the design, Legorreta was asked to solve exclusive architectural solutions for labs, research and office space, that would fulfill economical requirements with efficiency and flexibility. Working with such parameters, Legorreta achieved an integration of mystery, surprise, light and color, to the traditional research environment, creating a human atmosphere. Chirons compromise of working within the context of the existing community resulted critical. A succesful scheme was to be created to fulfill the privacy, security and functional necesities, and that at the same time would be friendly, interactive with its context. The final goal of the campus design, was to expand Emeryville, thus receiving the enthusiastic approval from the neighbours. Legorreta’s masterplan concept was inspired by the concept of a monastery or small village of science. Emulating the order and organization of a village or contained community, the laboratory buildings are defined by a series of atriums, patios, plazas and open spaces that are interconnected, creating a large multi-level campus of research activities. Access to the campus is at a pedestrian scale along streets that lead to a central plaza, accentuated by two entrance pavilions. The plaza will be the gateway/vestibule for the community, auditorium and public cafe, as well as the two main lobbies for the project.After entering, users rise to the main pedestrian level (the second level) through a series of elegant and comfortable stairs. The main level includes a large atrium which is a beautiful and tasteful blending of forms, colors, texture and natural light. Research laboratories and scientists offices are organized around courtyards