SOM Completes Grimes Engineering Center at UC Berkeley with First Known Shape-Memory Alloy Seismic System
The University of California, Berkeley has unveiled the Grimes Engineering Center, crafted by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), situated on Memorial Glade. This initiative repurposed the Bechtel Engineering Center, a Brutalist structure from 1982 designed by George Matsumoto. By retaining the original foundation, SOM introduced a two-story steel-frame pavilion, which contributes to carbon savings and cost reduction. The facility features student services and communal areas, characterized by a white steel colonnade and a louvered roof. Given its location near the Hayward Fault, engineers incorporated shape-memory alloy technology to mitigate twisting during seismic events. The design harmonizes with its surroundings, including the historic 1907 Hearst Memorial Mining Building. Next year, Evans Hall will be demolished to improve campus greenery.
Key facts
- The Grimes Engineering Center at UC Berkeley was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in San Francisco.
- The project adaptively reused the 1982 Bechtel Engineering Center by George Matsumoto and Robert Royston, preserving its base and adding a two-story lightweight steel pavilion.
- The building is located on Memorial Glade, less than 800 feet east of the Hayward Fault.
- SOM implemented the first known application of shape-memory alloy technology in a building for seismic resistance.
- The design team included SOM partners Michael Duncan and Mark Sarkisian.
- The seismic system was developed with Tri Pyramid and tested in Davis Hall with input from UC Berkeley engineering faculty.
- The building houses student services, entrepreneurial studies, and gathering spaces across departments.
- Evans Hall will be demolished in the coming year, improving the new building's frontal presence and advancing John Galen Howard's campus vision.
Entities
Artists
- Michael Duncan
- Mark Sarkisian
- George Matsumoto
- Robert Royston
- John Galen Howard
- George Kelham
- Eliel Saarinen
- Pierluigi Serraino
Institutions
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
- UC Berkeley
- Grimes Engineering Center
- Bechtel Engineering Center
- Design Review Committee
- Tri Pyramid
- Hearst Memorial Mining Building
- Davis Hall
- McLaughlin Hall
- Evans Hall
- Architect's Newspaper
Locations
- Berkeley
- United States
- San Francisco
- Memorial Glade
- Hayward Fault