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UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE
JOHN V. CROUL HALL
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA
The Croul Hall siting creates a strong quad statement when combined with the three existing earlier buildings of the School of Physical Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. Internally, the layout of the facility promotes the interaction of researchers by providing meeting spaces adjacent to a 3-story atrium overlooking the quad. This 66,500 square-foot building complete with full basement is the new home of the Department of Earth System Science, a heterogeneous group of scientists that includes biologists, chemists, engineers, mathematicians, and physicists.
The roof is designed and constructed to enable high altitude balloon launches to conduct experiments in Atmospheric Chemistry. There is a Linear Accelerator Mass Spectrometry lab located in the basement (slab on grade, where there is the least amount of vibration). The building structure is a gravity load bearing cast-in-place concrete frame with concrete masonry unit walls providing lateral load resistance. This combined system is designed to meet a vibration specification of Maximum RMS velocity of 2,000 micro-inches per second, a fairly strict criterion important in laboratory buildings where sensitive equipment is housed.
The concrete masonry manufacturer and R&R Masonry worked diligently with the University, Hensel Phelps Construction Company and Carrier Johnson to create a palette of CMU that would meet the University’s aesthetic goals. The building has a well defined base, middle and top, a classic architectural tripartite scheme. While the top is defined by ribbon windows and a concrete overhang, it is the masonry that defines the base and middle. Standard burnished “Champagne” units are the predominant material of the middle. The base is made of split face units of a charcoal color. These units have a custom blend of white pumice and red volcanic aggregate. This aggregate mix, while not so noticeable in the split-face units, stands out where this same block is used in a burnished version in the 45-foot high accent walls that bracket the glass atrium entry.
ARCHITECTS
Carrier
Johnson
Executive Architect
2600
Michelson Drive, Suite 400
Irvine, CA 92612
Mark
Loxsom
Associate Principal
EHDD
Architecture
Design Architect
500
Treat Avenue, Suite 201
San Francisco, CA 94110
Charles
Davis
Design Architect
STRUCTURAL
ENGINEER
BFL Owen & Associates
CONTRACTORS:
R & R Masonry
Hensel Phelps Construction Company
OWNER:
The Regents of the
University of California, Irvine
