In August of 2013, the new Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) Laboratory in La Jolla was dedicated. The original laboratory had been in a precarious position on the edge of a 200-foot cliff since the El Niño winter of 1997-98. The new laboratory was built directly across La Jolla Shores Drive from its predecessor at the northern end of the campus of Scripps institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego (UCSD). The structure is cut into a hair-pin turn in the road coming down the bluff from the upper campus of UCSD, thus preserving the view of La Jolla Cove. The new facility contains 38 research laboratories, including an experimental aquarium, a large animal necropsy lab, a specimen processing lab, a photogrammetry lab, an ichthyoplankton lab, genetic labs, physiology labs, oceanographic labs, specimen archives, electronic workshops and a unique large test tank facility for testing new sampling technologies, plus a library, conference rooms and office space for 275 scientists and support staff. The new facility will allow the SWFSC to continue its legacy surveys and monitoring programs while incorporating new technologies in the provision of advice on the conservation and management of living marine resources in the California Current, Eastern Tropical Pacific and Antarctic ecosystems. The design of the new laboratory includes photovoltaic cells, elaborate water retention systems, recycled materials and green roofs planted with California coastal chaparral, and earned a LEED Gold Level Certification. Funding was provided from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. La Jolla Laboratory Replacement Project PDF

Latest News

8/27/13 DEDICATION OF THE NEW LABORATORY!

4/19/13 5:20 pm

We started moving into our new lab in mid-February and will continue into June. The move consolidates 35+ labs, 5 shops, 4 libraries, 1.5 million specimens and 275 people from two locations with as little interruption to ongoing work as possible. Our temporary facility at Torrey Pines Court is almost empty and we've started moving from our old lab across La Jolla Shores Drive. This has involved an extraordinary effort in planning and coordination (the Move Committee has met more than 50 times over the course of two years); ITS and O&M have been stretched thin maintaining three sites simultaneously; and the Facilities staff has risen to the dual challenge of learning to operate a complex facility and helping people settle in to it. But it's all worth it. We're quickly becoming productive and looking forward dedicating the building in August.

New address is 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive 92037

9/25/12 11:30 am

Testing the lights at our new lab. Photo by Jeff Reeder, structural engineer for the building and mastermind of the tech tank.

2/7/12 11:30 am

Another view of the new and the old. Lighter colored roofs on the new lab will be planted with native coastal vegetation. Darker colored roofs will have photovoltaic cells. The excavation on the west side of LJSD between our labs is the foundation for the SIO's new MESOM lab. After we vacate the old lab, three of the four buildings will be removed. Only Building D (closest to the road) will remain. The pad for Building A will be converted to a small parking lot and a coastal lookout will be located at the south end of Building C. Click here for more aerial photos. Be sure to explore other links on the left side of the page. For example, the Innovative Design link, describes some of the things that were rattling around in the heads of the architects.

1/20/12 10:00 am

View from the street showing the lobby, library and large conference room stack. The concrete and steel structure is done; most of the exterior windows are in place; the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components are nearing completion; interior walls are being framed and wall board hung; freezers are being built in place; laboratory cabinets are being installed; electricity, gas and sea water are connected; additional retaining walls on the east side are being constructed; and the building is beginning to take on a life of its own.

But much remains to be done. In addition, all systems must be running and monitored for several weeks before the building can be considered fully commissioned and ready to occupy. As a consequence, our move-in dates have been pushed back to May through August.

8/12/11 5:30 pm

The old and the new side by side. The architect's vision is taking shape and will occupy a site as spectacular as our old lab, albeit more secure. We're also on track for LEED Gold certification for sustainable buildings. I came across a quote from several years ago when the lab was just an idea:

“In science when a solution or breakthrough is reached, the comment is ‘oh that was obvious.’ This building has a sense of inevitability, a building that is what it should be. This is the most creative design I’ve seen as a member of this board.” Robert Hamburger, UC-San Diego Design Review Board Member

High praise from the former Dean of Faculty at the School of Medicine, who has been here since the beginning of UCSD and has seen the erection of many buildings on campus.

Our move-in dates have been pushed back to late February through May. Work on the old lab will begin in April resulting in the removal of three buildings, seismic and geo-tech hazard mitigation, some new parking and restoration of the rest of the site to native plants.

Weekly photos of the construction can be seen here . The latest time lapse movie can be seen here .

The view from above. The grey section in the NW corner is the Level 4 roof. The steel framing for Levels 3 and 4 will eventually extend further south with Level 3 wrapping around the the west. The south end of the Plaza (Level 3 deck) is waiting the installation of a large truss that will span the entries to parking and the loading dock.

3/31/11 3:30 pm

In the last few weeks the new lab appears to have erupted from the hole and is now very visible from La Jolla Shores Drive. The scene above is from the rear of the Large Conference Room on the 3rd (or plaza) level looking toward the cove. Steel framing for the 3rd and 4th levels will start to go up next month and by June the outline of the full building should be clear. In the meantime, concrete will continue to be poured on the southern portions of the first and second levels. Ultimately, the plaza will cover all below and the 3rd-4th level labs and offices will rise above. We are still on schedule to move in during the first quarter of calendar year 2012.

As a reminder:

* Weekly Photos supplied by Matt Vogel, our on-site engineer.
* Architect's Renderings and Animation.
* Latest Time Lapse movie compiled from images taken every 15 minutes from a camera mounted on top of the elevator shaft at the south end of the Keck Center-Nierenberg Hall parking lot.

10/21/10 5:30 pm

One year ago today the excavation contractor started to remove the brush from the hillside. Since then 140,000 cubic yards of earth were removed and a massive retaining wall installed. In May the construction contractor began working and has made rapid progress. Each week more dirt is covered with concrete and the building is starting to take shape. The view below is looking NW over the top of the tech tank; the main machinery room is on the right; the columns are sitting on the lower parking level and forms are being constructed for the 1st level pour.