University Of California San Francisco Mission Bay Biomedical Campus Experiments With Early 21st Century American Urban Renaissance

Aerial view of UCSF Mission Bay that shows the completed Genentech Hall in the foreground and the second building, Genetics, Development and Behavioral Sciences, nearing completion. [Click on image for enlargement.]

A 43-acre campus for teaching and research, UCSF Mission Bay is the latest addition to the University of California, San Francisco, a public institution dedicated to saving lives and improving health. UCSF Mission Bay welcomed its first wave of students, faculty and staff in January 2003. Construction continues apace as the campus literally springs to life near downtown San Francisco.

Genentech Hall (24A/B), a six-story, 434,000-gross-square-foot biomedical research facility, broke ground in October 1999 and was completed in October 2002. Scientists began moving into the building in January 2003 and will continue to move in through May 2003. Designed as a model for interactive research, the $223 million research building will contain programs in structural and chemical biology and molecular, cell and developmental biology, as well as the Molecular Design Institute and the Center for Advanced Technology. The building features an atrium, outdoor amphitheater, a library and café.

As it develops, the public is invited to tour the Mission Bay campus. Weekly tours meet Wednesday at 12:00 noon in the lobby of the Community Center near the concierge desk. Reservations are required. Tours begin at 12:00 noon and last approximately 45-60 minutes. It's a walking tour, so it is suggested that you wear comfortable shoes.

Proto-Renaissance Public Sculpture at the UCSF Mission Bay Campus:














A sculpture by Stephan Balkenhol was installed in the community center on Oct. 21, 2005. Photo by Christine Jegan.




















Hammering Man at 2,903,440 by Jonathan Borofsky, on loan to UCSF from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Photo by Mark Citret.













Standing 133 feet apart, Ballast, designed by American sculptor Richard Serra, was erected on March 22, 2005. Photo by Majed.

VIRTUAL TOUR OF TODAY'S UCSF MISSION BAY -- THIRTY-THREE IMAGES.

Aerial photo credit: (c) Mark Defeo 2003. With thanks.

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Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières is an independent humanitarian medical aid agency committed to two objectives: providing medical aid wherever needed, regardless of race, religion, politics or sex, and raising awareness of the plight of the people they help. In 1999 Médecins Sans Frontières was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 'in recognition of the organization's pioneering humanitarian work on several continents'.