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Why Now?

For the first time, advances in technology have made understanding and treating the brain a real possibility—and these technologies are available in the state-of-the-art facilities on the new UCSF Mission Bay medical research campus.

The Neurosciences Research Building will capitalize on the pioneering research underway in adjacent Mission Bay buildings, helping to transform the campus into the most dynamic site in the world for translational medicine focused on curing ill patients.

UCSF Mission Bay

The vast UCSF Mission Bay campus features one of the world's most diverse communities of scientific experts – biologists, clinicians, physical scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and computer scientists – who are constantly encouraged to work together in advancing human health.

Designed by architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, the Neurosciences Research Building integrates vibrant architectural concepts that enhance collaboration within the structure and throughout the entire Mission Bay campus, including:

  • The placement of natural gathering facilities, such as meeting and break rooms, in the center of the building.
  • Office spaces that are located along the southern curved section of the building. The curve creates a soft, continuous space—eliminating any hints of separate territories.
  • An accessible outdoor courtyard, where neuroscience faculty can congregate with each other as well as colleagues from Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Hall on the courtyard's opposite side.

The building's proximity to the growing commercial biotechnology hub in Mission Bay provides further opportunities for collaborations.

An Innovative Partnership

The Neurosciences Research Building will be constructed and owned by private developers, Edgemoor/McCarthy Cook Partners, LLC. UCSF will enter into a space lease for the building for a period of between 32-40 years, after which ownership of the structure will revert to UCSF.

This innovative arrangement, along with falling construction costs, is expected to result in a structure that costs up to 20 percent less than similar facilities developed and built by the university.

Now more than ever, we must expand beyond traditional government sources of funding to support the most promising investigative possibilities.