Labs

Lawrence Hall of Science

Built 1968. Established at UC Berkeley in honor of Ernest O. Lawrence, UC's first Nobel laureate, Lawrence Hall of Science is a resource center for preschool through high school science and mathematics education, and a public science center with hands-on experiences for learners of all ages.

Building Details

Floors: 4

Accessible entrances: The main entrance is on the north side, adjacent to the plaza. An automatic opener is provided at this entrance. There are also four exits on the south side of level A (currently not used due to...

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Built 1931. Founded in 1931 by Ernest Orlando Lawrence as the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, this U.S. Department of Energy facility is managed by the University of California. Among the 76 buildings nestled in the hills above the UC Berkeley campus is the Advanced Light Source, formerly Lawrence's 184-inch cyclotron, which played a key role in opening the Atomic Age.

Building Details

[under construction]

Physics Building

Built 1924. This was the site of the world's first atom smasher, built in 1931 by Ernest O. Lawrence, Berkeley's first Nobel laureate. With eight Nobel Prizes in physics held by UC Berkeley faculty and four more awarded to Berkeley alumni, the Physics Building (designed by John Galen Howard) has been home to an impressive array of Nobel-caliber work.

Building Details

Floors: 8

Accessible entrances: The wheelchair usable entrance is located in the breezeway on the west side between Physics Annex and Birge Hall. This entrance leads to the...

Cory Hall

Built 1950. Named for Clarence L. Cory, dean of the College of Mechanics and a faculty member for almost 40 years, Cory had a fifth floor added in 1985, the exterior of which features a computer chip-inspired design motif. The building houses a state-of-the-art electronic micro-fabrication facility and labs devoted to integrated circuits, lasers, and robotics. Cory has the dubious distinction of being the only site bombed twice by "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski in the 1980s.

Building Details

Floors: 9

Accessible entrances: The automatic...

Hearst Memorial Mining Building

Built 1907. Designed by John Galen Howard and financed by Phoebe Apperson Hearst as a memorial to her husband George, "a plain honest man and good miner," silver tycoon, and U.S. senator. The building underwent a massive restoration, completed in 2002, that included cutting-edge seismic retrofitting to protect the building in the event of a major earthquake. In addition to its meticulously restored vaulted entrance gallery, elegant sculptured windows, and grand marble staircase, the building houses new laboratories for advanced experiments in computation, ceramics, metals, and polymers, as...

Stanley Hall

Built 2007. Wendell M. Stanley, who won the 1946 Nobel Prize in chemistry, served Berkeley as biochemistry chair (1948-53), virology chair (1958-64), and founder and director of the virus lab (1948-69). Stanley Hall is the Berkeley headquarters for the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3). The office and lab complex supports interdisciplinary teaching and research as part of the campus' Health Science Initiative.

Building Details

Floors: 12

Accessible entrances: The main accessible entrance is located on the...

Bauer Wurster Hall

Built 1964. Although home to Berkeley's architecture department, Bauer Wurster is often voted Berkeley's ugliest building for its Brutalist, bare concrete appearance. But some of the "ugliness" is a result of functionality, like the concrete sunshades over windows to minimize energy costs. It was named for William Wurster, dean of the School of Architecture and its successor, the College of Environmental Design (1950-62), and his wife, lecturer Catherine Bauer Wurster.

Building Details

Floors: 11

Accessible entrances: The west entrance on the...

Lewis Hall

Built 1948. Designed by Arthur Brown, Jr., and named for Gilbert Lewis, dean of the College of Chemistry from 1912-41.

Building Details

Floors: 6

Accessible entrances: There are two entrances to the ground level at grade on the west side of the building, one of which provides an automatic opener.

Restrooms: Two multiple user restrooms on the ground level provide front-transfer stalls. Two multiple restrooms on level one and level two provide side transfer stalls.

Designated waiting area: When...

Koshland Hall

Built 1990. Named for Daniel Koshland, a Berkeley alumnus, biochemistry professor, and longtime editor of Science magazine.

Building Details

Floors: 8

Accessible entrances: Building can be entered on the lower level from the Northwest Parking Facility. There is a usable entrance on the south side of the entry level, 50 feet from the elevators and the main staircase.

Restrooms: Restrooms with side transfer stalls are located on the lower level near the center of the building.

Designated waiting area:...

Donner Laboratory

Built 1942. The lab was funded by William H. Donner, president of the Donner Steel Corp., who donated money to the university for work in nuclear medicine following his son's death from cancer. The Donner Lab was the world's first center for research in the uses of atomic energy in biology and medicine.

Building Details

Floors: 5

Accessible entrances: There are two accessible entrances. The first is from the east accessible from the Gayley Road. The second is located on the western side of the building and is the preffered route for using...