The “Flexible by Design” program for Texas A&M University’s new 156,000-square-foot facility revolutionizes the production of vaccines and critical medical therapies. Encompassing academic, research and development activities under one roof with areas and functions to promote collaboration and cross fertilization of ideas, it is the “first-in-class” facility to potentially create vast opportunities in the biopharmaceutical industry and for the state of Texas. It has become an international destination for research and application of new technologies for the development of medications to combat diseases and serves as a model for future strategic national efforts to protect humanity from bio-terror threats and attacks.
The LEED Platinum UCI Alumni Center establishes a presence that extends far beyond the borders of the campus to generate an economical, educational, and cultural bridge to the world. FPBA weaved this ideology into the design, and through a meticulous and collaborative process, the team yielded a facility embodying a balance of progressive architecture, sustainable design, and thoughtful campus integration with maximized program efficiencies. An elegant and welcoming folded glass plane at the entry envelops and ties together the compositional form of the building and announces itself as the entry to campus, creating a prominent doorway easily discernible to visitors and establishing a welcoming environment on the campus to students and alumni. Strong connections and seamless transitions to the natural environment create free-flowing spaces and an atmosphere of celebration. The nature of the facility and the location of the site dictate the form of the building, and the resulting design takes on that of an iconic marker.
In keeping with Mission Revival, Southwest and Tuscan cultures, the Ramona Library in San Diego County, is well-balanced with ample green space, utilizing drought-tolerant, low-watering landscaping of wide-ranging shapes, colors and textures throughout. The LEED Gold Certified building offers a gathering destination with community rooms and outdoor overflow space for presentations, educational training, concerts and extracurricular activities such as dance, music and fitness programs. Shaded exterior reading spaces and the integration of several private patios create outdoor visual relief. Strong, vertical design elements such as the clock tower, the fireplace chimneys and the book drop tower recall Tuscan hill towns while adding visual emphasis to Ramona’s history. Two prominent, publicly accessible plazas connected to a grand “historical” lobby clad in ochre colored stone and crowned by an oversized arched window form the core of the library and set the stage for a wonderful discovery-filled venue.
The Institute for Conservation Research at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park houses six laboratories, six research divisions and is a LEED Silver facility. Dedicated to making ground-breaking innovations in science and technology, the Institute for Conservation Research helps solve complex conservation issues and is one of the largest zoo-based multidisciplinary research efforts in the world. It is the research arm of San Diego Zoo Global and houses more than 150 research professionals in nine different fields that gather scientific knowledge and carry out research vital to the conservation of animals, plants, and habitats in over 35 countries worldwide. FPBA designed the state-of-the-art facility to house a genetics division which is home to the one-of-a-kind Frozen Zoo and contains more than 8,000 living tissue samples; a Wildlife Disease Laboratory working to prevent the spread of diseases in both zoo and wild animal populations; and the Reproductive Physiology Division which uses innovative technologies to assist in the reproduction of endangered species, including giant pandas, kiwis, and several aquatic species. The design incorporated the exterior of the building with the already-established San Diego Zoo Safari Park architecture and draws upon the style of the adjacent veterinary hospital. http://www.usgbc-sd.org/page-952933
Significant exterior and interior upgrades were designed by FPBA to BioMed Realty Trust’s newest acquisition, a 1980s vintage building located in La Jolla, California. The 68,000 SF building, previously converted from defense contractor use to now dated wet labs, was completely renovated to include four newly upgraded laboratory spaces designed to take maximum advantage of both natural light as well as the landscaped views outdoors. Reconfigured laboratory suites that have highly visual individual entrance lobbies respond to a variety of tenant needs to allow for maximum flexibility as end-user requirements evolve. The new Conference Center with contemporary audio visual capabilities is expandable to the exterior where outside meeting and gathering areas are carefully integrated with new landscape and site enhancements. The building’s exterior areas cultivate gathering spaces that were designed as direct extensions of the interior upgrades, with new canopies visually expanding from the base building. The new technology-based fitness center provides tenants a welcome opportunity to enjoy physical activities away from their desk at any time during the day.
