San Diego life science research campus features color-changing, coffered façade

The 10-acre Torrey View life science research campus has opened in San Diego’s Del Mar Heights neighborhood. Developed by Breakthrough Properties and designed by Flad Architects, the campus offers 520,000 sf of state-of-the-art laboratory and office space, as well as landscaped gathering spaces.

The Torrey View campus comprises three research and development buildings, plus an amenity building with a restaurant, bar, café, library and lounge. The amenity building features a green roof that reduces heat gain and rainwater runoff.

In addition to a 400-seat conference center, other amenities include pickleball courts, fitness center, yoga studio, bike and surfboard storage, and outdoor fire pits. Onsite parking is available in a 1,400-stall, partially below-grade garage covered by open green spaces and gardens.

With steeply graded window panels made of glass fiber reinforced concrete, Torrey View’s coffered façade emphasizes depth and texture, echoing the site’s layered geologic formations. The neutral-colored GFRC panels enable the façade to change color and texture at different times of the day, while also serving as a backdrop to the surrounding natural environment.

The interiors support occupant wellness by providing natural daylight without compromising building performance. The campus design emphasizes views of the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding hills and canyons that span toward Torrey Pines State Beach.

The campus was entirely leased prior to completion. Tenants include biopharmaceutical company Pfizer, which leased 230,000 sf in two buildings, and global medical technology company BD, which created a 220,000-sf innovation center for its biosciences division in a third building.

Torrey View is certified LEED Gold and designed to achieve Fitwel certification.

On the building team:
Developer: Breakthrough Properties
Design architect: Flad Architects
Structural engineer / acoustics: Coffman Engineers
MEP: tk1sc member of WSP and A.O. Reed
Civil engineer: Michael Baker International
Landscape: Bionic Landscape
General contractor: Clark Construction

Here is the project essay from Flad Architects:

Offering exceptional views of the Pacific Ocean and its surrounding natural landscape from every point on the site, Breakthrough Properties’ Torrey View Development works in tandem with its environment to express its own character while echoing the site’s layered geologic formations in its coffered façade. The steeply graded window panels establish its dynamic, tessellated signature envelope.

Seeking to create flexible, daylight-infused interior floor plates that maximize energy efficiency, digital tools were employed to assist in massing, placement, and façade development. The interiors promote occupant wellness by providing natural daylight and views without compromising building performance.

With the need to strictly align with safety standards and accommodate specialized equipment, scientific workplaces present design challenges when also seeking to create a desirable work environment to attract and retain top-tier researchers. This life science campus addresses those challenges by providing three thoughtfully designed, state-of-the-art scientific workplaces and an amenity building totaling 520,000 sf, offering top-tier leasable space for biotechnology firms in San Diego.

The design team used the site’s sloping terrain to limit vehicular traffic on campus, placing the site entrance at the highest point and locating the parking structure below grade. This freed up space above the parking garage for a publicly accessible, landscaped plaza or mesa.

Surrounded by research laboratories, offices, and amenity spaces, the plaza unites the campus and provides connection to the outdoors. Integrated into the plaza is a signature amenity building featuring a restaurant, bar, café, library, and lounge. The amenity building’s green roof reduces heat gain and rainwater runoff, while also offering an inviting view from upper levels.

Integrating nature and technology to create an inspiring workplace, the design of the campus ensures the building remains in constant dialogue with its surroundings, offering a dynamic visual experience.

Officially opening in the summer of 2024, Torrey View is certified LEED Gold and designed to achieve Fitwel certification.

Façade Details

With a façade composed of highly articulated, unitized Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) panels, the facility’s envelope emphasizes depth and texture. Appearing to be assembled from custom designed panels, the exterior represents the careful application and assembly of only four standardized designs to create its signature look.

The neutral-colored GFRC panels serve as a backdrop to the environment, enabling the façade to change color and texture with the sunlight at different times of the day, presenting unmatched applications on all four facades throughout the day and year. As day turns to night, strategically placed design lighting accentuates depth and articulation while illuminating the main public mesa.

The façade’s design ensures the building remains in constant dialogue with its surroundings, offering a theatrical and dynamic visual experience that shifts and evolves, mirroring the ever-changing landscape in which it resides.