University of California, Berkeley - Sutardja Dai Hall

University of California Berkeley CITRIS Sutardja Dai Hall Architecture Interiors Higher Education Science Technology SmithGroup
University of California Berkeley CITRIS Sutardja Dai Hall Architecture Exterior Higher Education Science Technology SmithGroup
University of California Berkeley CITRIS Sutardja Dai Hall Architecture Bridge Exterior Higher Education Science Technology SmithGroup
University of California Berkeley CITRIS Sutardja Dai Hall Architecture Exterior Higher Education Science Technology SmithGroup
University of California Berkeley CITRIS Sutardja Dai Hall Architecture Interior Higher Education Science Technology SmithGroup
University of California Berkeley CITRIS Sutardja Dai Hall Architecture Interior Higher Education Science Technology SmithGroup

In the historic heart of the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) campus, Sutardja Dai Hall creates a hub for engineering research and technology innovation in an Arts and Crafts-inspired design. Along with creating better physical connections for the School of Engineering, Sutardja Dai Hall creates connections for the greater good, housing the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS).

Client

University of California, Berkeley

Location

Berkeley, California

Markets/Services

Academic Research, Architecture, Building Enclosure Consulting, Higher Education, Interiors, Science & Technology

Size

141,000 GSF

SmithGroup partnered with UC Berkeley to redesign and reprogram a previously planned engineering building. With challenging budget constraints, it needed to retain all of the building’s programmatic elements—most notably, the special facilities for CITRIS, an interdisciplinary, multi-campus research program focused on practical applications of technology to solve large-scale social and commercial problems. The building also houses incubation laboratories which support student engineering research projects into pragmatic real-life applications.

 

University of California Berkeley CITRIS Sutardja Dai Hall Architecture Exterior Higher Education Science Technology SmithGroup

The exterior respects the surrounding Arts and Crafts vernacular, with pitched rooflines, multi-pane windows and a textured cast concrete skin that resembles weathered wood.

 

The resulting 141,000-GSF building includes a state-of-the-art nano fabrication laboratory, a robotics lab, research areas for the design of information systems, two clean rooms, an auditorium, classrooms, a center for distance learning, offices, a cafe and a technology museum. The design ensures that the spaces remain flexible and adaptable to ongoing advancements in technology due to modular planning. After a few years in operation, the facilities’ programs evolved creating opportunities to accommodate new research programs through space. 

 

University of California Berkeley CITRIS Sutardja Dai Hall Architecture Exterior Higher Education Science Technology SmithGroup

CITRIS and Sutardja Dai Hall create a new centralized node for the school, with improved pedestrian connections to adjacent engineering buildings, an internal courtyard, and three levels of terraces that provide additional gathering areas while softening a 60-foot elevation change.

 

The re-imagined Sutardja Dai Hall creates a fitting sense of place for engineering studies at Berkeley, uniting the University’s heritage with exciting new research applications to advance society.