Creating a Biology Hub Devoted to Teaching
UC Davis celebrates the new Sciences Laboratory Building, a state-of-the-art environment for undergraduate learning in biology and chemistry.
Biology is an experimental, integrated science, requiring hands-on training, research and discovery. UC Davis’ undergraduate degree programs in the biological sciences are noted for their extensive use of laboratory coursework and experience. The Sciences Laboratory Building is designed to keep pace with the rapid developments occurring the biological sciences. The building supports rigorous instruction and training in the application of modern scientific technologies.
UC Davis and the College of Biological Sciences gratefully acknowledge the generous contributions of these donors.
Designed To Keep Pace With Science
The Sciences Laboratory Building co-locates teaching facilities for all five sections of the College of Biological Sciences, plus ten labs for introductory chemistry. Previously, these programs had been disbursed among six separate buildings, which curtailed interaction among the disciplines. The building includes an expansive teaching greenhouse to support classes in Plant Biology and ground-floor sea-water flumes for studying marine biology.
The UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity is also housed here, with its climate-controlled herbaria for the nationally recognized collection of over 250,000 dried and pressed plant specimens from California and around the world. The Center's plant identification laboratory and botanical library makes it an exceptional resource for information on plant names and uses. The Center is jointly supported by the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and the College of Biological Sciences. The Sciences Laboratory Building is three stories tall with 141,219 gross square feet and 80,495 assignable square feet. There are five student discussion rooms, learning centers and study lounges and two computer laboratories. One of the computer labs is dedicated to bioinformatics applications, which is the use of large computational data sets for the assessment of biological inquiries. Also part of the building complex is the new 517-seat Sciences Lecture Hall--the largest lecture hall on campus--which features advanced instructional technology. It has 11,355 gross square feet, three projection panels and an ultrahigh-resolution projection system.
Building History
In the early 1990s, initial concepts for a new building on the UC Davis campus emerged, recognizing the fact that significant developments in molecular biology were transforming instructional methods and technologies. In order to remain among the top universities in the county teaching in the biological sciences, UC Davis needed to dramatically update its facilities.
In 1996, the Division of Biological Sciences Curriculum Committee prepared detailed proposals to support planning, expanding from the initial concept to include not only teaching labs for molecular biology, but for the full breadth of the biological disciplines. Within two years, a building committee was appointed and funding for the $58 million Sciences Laboratory Building was assembled, primarily through a voter-approved state bond act. In 1999, the programming plan was completed, and the project was expanded to include ten introductory chemistry labs, the Center for Plant Diversity and the campus' largest lecture hall.
Construction began in 2002 and finishing touches were made at the end of 2004. Both the Sciences Laboratory Building and the Sciences Lecture Hall were ready for use in January 2005.
Architect: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca of Portland, Oregon
General Contractor: Howard S. Wright Construction Company
Public Funding for Public Education
The Sciences Laboratory Building and Lecture Hall reflects UC Davis' commitment to undergraduate education and California’s investment in the future. Major funding for the came from the people of California through voter-approved bonds. In addition, numerous private donors supported special features of the project, such as the Center for Plant Diversity, space for outreach programs, and a bioinformatics computer laboratory. Opportunities to support this important project and to name key features of the building still remain.
