The LEED Gold-certified University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine Building (RMB) project represents CEI's ability to successfully collaborate and creatively solve problems. From a constrained budget mandating a “best value” approach, to the hillside location that required the building be designed to move, CEI addressed these challenges by teaming up with DPR Construction, SmithGroup Architects and UCSF on the design and construction effort. This was UCSF's first project using Design/Build contract principles.
The close and early coordination of all key trades on the project was based on an integrated project delivery (IPD) method. The integrated method was so successful that it resulted in multiple industry awards, including the San Francisco AIA 2010 “Integrated Project Delivery” Award and the Design-Build Institute Western Region Award for the “Best In-Progress Design/Build Project” of 2010.
In addition to housing 25 labs dedicated to human and animal embryonic and adult stem cell and early-cell research, the UCSF project features terraced grass roofs and solar orientation to maximize energy efficiency. The building was built on the side of Parnassus Heights, which required incredible seismic standards to allow five feet of motion using a base isolation system.
CEI's role included:
In 2011, the project received three accolades: the New York AIA 2011 “Design” Award, the Design-Build Institute of America’s “Excellence in Design” Award, and “Top Honors” in the DBIA category of Industrial/Process/Research design.