Award of Merit, Higher Education/Research: Li Ka-Shing Center for Biomedical & Health Sciences
The $210-million Li Ka-Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences, which opened in December 2011 at the University of California, Berkeley, was built to inspire collaboration and discovery. The 200,000-sq-ft, five-story building combines research and teaching. It includes a brain-imaging center with multiple MRIs, laboratories, a 300-seat auditorium, 80-seat classroom, conference rooms and offices.
The center, which received LEED-Gold certification, has an energy-efficient HVAC system, three living green roofs and extensive daylighting. The structural steel frame is clad with materials such as architectural board-form concrete, terra-cotta rain screen, stainless metal shingles and aluminum sunshades.