NOAA Fisheries Services Southwest Science Center

Rudolph and Sletten builds National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Services Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) in La Jolla, California. The 240,000-square-foot project, which includes underground facility parking for up to 202 vehicles, is funded with part of the $830 million NOAA received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act economic stimulus package, replaces an older facility that is precariously perched on the edge of a 200-foot cliff. Construction will begin next month.

NOAA’s new SWFSC will perform research for the organization’s National Marine Fisheries Service and will contain a large seawater and freshwater Ocean Technology Development Tank used to study and survey fishery resources and ecosystems. The facility will contain an experimental aquarium, a large animal necropsy lab, a specimen processing lab, a photogrammetry lab, an ichthyoplankton lab, genetic labs, physiology labs, oceanographic labs, specimen archives, electronic workshops and a large tank for testing new sampling technologies, plus a library, conference rooms and office space for up to 300 scientists and support staff. The building will also house the world’s largest collections of California Current ichthyoplankton and tissue samples for marine mammal and marine turtle genetics.

“Laboratories have been a specialty of Rudolph and Sletten since the early days of biotech in the Bay Area. Add to that our long-standing relationship and experience with the Monterey Bay Aquarium and this project with NOAA becomes a perfect fit for our capabilities. In addition, this project adds to our growing list or government-funded and economic stimulus-supported projects.” Martin Sisemore
CEO and President,
Rudolph and Sletten

The architect of record is Gould Evans of Kansas City, Missouri, and the associate architects are Architects Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker of San Diego. Based on the design work alone, the project has already received a top award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), a rare for a project not yet built.

NOAA Fisheries Service’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center integrates policy expertise and cutting-edge scientific research to provide management and conservation of domestic and international living marine resources. Established in 1964 to study and manage the sardine and tuna fisheries of the U.S. West Coast, the SWFSC provides scientific advice, manages fisheries and conserves protected species along the U.S. West Coast, throughout the Pacific Ocean and in the Southern Ocean off Antarctica.