The NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, Calif. Image courtesy of Gould Evans.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is breaking ground this month on a new economic stimulus-funded building. Its $102 million Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, Calif., will be part of the University of California-San Diego campus and will replace an older facility. The architect of record is Gould Evans of Kansas City, Mo., and the associate architects are Architects Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker of San Diego.

This project is part of $600 million NOAA received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act economic stimulus package. This amount also includes $9 million to upgrade NOAA weather forecast offices in Barrow and Nome, Alaska, $142 million to complete the construction of its Pacific Regional Center in Honolulu, and $9 million to construct a replacement of a Fairbanks, Alaska satellite facility. These projects are a small percentage of the $130 billion worth of design and construction initiatives that the AIA estimates are included in the economic stimulus package and are reflected in the AIA’s Rebuild and Renew government advocacy plan.

When the science center is completed in 2011, it is expected to be LEED Gold certified, and will house 283 staff members in lab and office spaces. The facility will perform research for the NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service and will contain a large seawater and freshwater Ocean Technology Development Tank that will be used to study and survey fishery resources and ecosystems. Last year, AIA San Diego gave the unbuilt design an honor award.

“This has been one of the most interesting and challenging projects that our firm has ever had the opportunity to design,” says Bob Gould, FAIA, co-founder of Gould Evans, in a press release. “We were provided with an extremely steep site, facing west toward the Pacific Ocean, and a relatively complex building program which includes laboratories, offices, and enclosed parking. The project evolved through the design process in a manner that maintains views over the site for neighbors, maximizes views from the site to La Jolla cove, and utilizes a series of courtyards and light wells to optimize the use of daylight and fresh air. We intend for this to be a significant addition to the University of California at San Diego campus and a great place for the NOAA researchers to do their important work.”