Dive Brief:

• McCarthy Building Companies was the contractor for a new genomic research center intended to marry state-of-the-art scientific facilities with sustainable design and construction.
• The J. Craig Venter Institute includes a 28,600 square-foot, three-story office wing and a single-story laboratory wing housing 12,605 square feet of work areas, 14-foot ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling windows.
• The center, on 1.75 acres owned by the University of California, San Diego, was built with concrete using 30% fly ash with a goal of earning LEED Platinum status.

Dive Insight:

The design, by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, uses rainwater for two-thirds of its water needs and has both buildings sitting a podium roof for a partially submerged parking structure. The building also includes monitors for energy and water consumption. ​