UC Riverside Plant Growth Environments Facility

The Plant Growth Environments Facility on the University of California (UC) Riverside campus is a design-build project that features a two story, 31,500 sf greenhouse and headhouse space, wet and dry research laboratories, growth chamber housing, and faculty and academic support spaces. The new facility replaces aged greenhouses and will allow for better temperature control and support a wide range of research functions and environments.

Coffman provided the civil and structural engineering design for the new Plant Growth Environments Facility and site improvements. The site improvements include driveway, drive aisle, fire turnaround, walkways, curb ramp, accessible Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) parking stalls, accessible ADA paths of travel, low impact development (LID) facilities for stormwater management and quality treatment, landscaping, other associated site improvements, and associated utilities. The utilities include domestic water, fire water, irrigation, chilled water, natural gas, electrical, steam, and compressed air.

Construction of the first and second floor of the building consists of cast-in-place concrete walls and concrete slabs. Pre-fabricated greenhouses are to sit on the second floor to create the learning and plant growth spaces.

This project received a 2023 AIA Los Angeles Design Honor Award – Educational Category, 2022 AIA California Design Merit Award, and BD+C’s 2021 Bronze Building Team Award.