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A graduate level institution, UC San Francisco is consistently ranked in the top five for medical schools in the country, and is one of the world’s leaders in medical research. Plagued by a shortage of available land, the University is moving a portion of its Parnassus campus to a new Mission Bay site. Genentech Hall is one of the first of several buildings planned that will house a core of researchers.

The basic design premise for the lab floor layout is based on the successful solution developed by EWA for the renovation of the 12th Floor of the Health Sciences Instruction & Research (HSIR) building. Laboratories and support spaces are organized around a main entrance, which serves as a hub for administrative support and communication. Each central area contains offices and common areas such as conference rooms, break room, and kitchen. This scheme creates a neighborhood for each research group cultivating interaction and streamlining administrative functions. Shared secondary support areas across the floor provide additional opportunities for exchange.

A generic, adaptable approach was essential for the laboratories to accommodate future changes in research programs. Support space was also treated with flexibility and includes a high (1:1) ratio to lab space, reflecting trends in biomedical research. The facility houses interdisciplinary research in several fields including the Center for Advanced Technology, Molecular and Cellular Development, Structural and Computational Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Radiology, Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology, and the Modular Design Institute.

Laboratories include chemistry on the top floor, three+ floors of Biochemistry, and the first floor for structural biology, computer modeling of molecules, an animal facility with BSL-3 lab, seven NMRs (400-900 MHz), four XRD units, X-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry, and electron microscopy. Vibration isolation was needed on the first floor for the electron microscopes and shielding was required for the 800 MHz NMR. The animal facility serves as a core facility (central cagewash & loading dock) for Genentech Hall as well as other research facilities on the campus.