Mark Cavagnero Associates Architects

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    • UCSF Joan and Sanford I. Weill Neurosciences Building
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    Atrium
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    Interior
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    Interior
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    UCSF Joan and Sanford I. Weill Neurosciences Building

    Status

    Completed, 2021

    Size

    281,800 GSF

    Client

    University of California, San Francisco

    Scope

    Design Architect

    Project Team

    Mark Cavagnero
    Kang Kiang
    Paul Davison
    Federica Carrara
    Joan Young Park
    Tim Waters
    Jiane Du
    Emma Spilsbury
    Tom Bliska
    David Kwon
    Muge Bicer
    Suzan Ozcelik

    Project Collaborators

    Architect of Record: SmithGroup JJR
    Contractor: DPR
    Structural: Degenkolb Engineers
    Landscape: Office of Cheryl Barton
    Donors’ Project Advisors: SKS + Prado
    Program Manager: Jacobs
    Mechanical Engineer: Critchfield Mechanical Inc.
    Electrical Engineer: Cupertino Electric, Inc.
    Plumbing: Southland Industries
    Façade: Walters & Wolf

    Description

    The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Neurosciences Building is be a beacon for UCSF Mission Bay and a manifestation of the ambitious world-changing research and treatments that are envisioned within it. The project seeks to create a new environment for cross-disciplinary science and discovery, and incorporates a rich and diverse research, clinical and academic program. 

    Architecturally the building is conceived as a series of interlocked volumes with a four-story research block lifted above a transparent two story clinical volume.  These principally programmatic moves are enlivened through powerful articulation of the forms to create a dynamic and welcoming environment that is illuminated and connected to nature.

    The upper research block is clad in a glazed curtain wall, and wrapped by an architectural screen that can filter heat gain and glare while maximizing daylight for the occupants.  The screen also acts as a unifying element for the building expressing the research functions and provides a level of privacy for staff and faculty within while creating a dynamic experience at the pedestrian level where views into the building will be revealed and concealed when moving through campus.

    A central entry hall divides the building massing, to define the primary campus entry on 4th street and articulate the building into 2 program driven bars with a central space that brings natural light and social connectivity into the heart of the building. This central space is further articulated by the removal of the architectural screen, revealing the building’s town hall interaction spaces behind the highly transparent curtain wall.  This creates a powerful and dynamic connection to the campus and provides a visually intriguing counterpoint to the natural landscape of Koret Quad that it faces.

    A simple palette of materials is envisioned to express, support and reinforce the guiding design principles. Aluminum Composite Panels and
    Architectural Cast-In-Place Concrete expresses the building’s structural skeleton and provides a durable and dignified organizing element for building services elements including the loading docks. This treatment is carried through to the mechanical enclosures at the roof level and at the Paseo to create a unified, legible and holistic design expression of the building’s service zones in contrast to the glazed staff, faculty and public areas. 

    Location

    Recognition

    Awards

    Architizer A+, Hospitals and Healthcare Centers, 2022
    Chicago Athenaeum Museum, Green Good Design Award, 2022
    IIDA Northern California Chapter, Honor Awards – Heal Category, 2022
    International Design Awards, Architecture Categories-Institutional, 2021
    Built Design Awards, Healthcare / Wellness Facilities, 2021
    WAN Award, Finalist – Healthcare, 2021
    Chicago Athenaeum Museum, The International Architecture Awards, Honorable Mention, 2022

    Publications

    Bisnow Bay Area, January 17, 2018