Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Inspired by Karl the Fog and UCSF’s Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve, the new UCSF Barbara and Gerson Bakar Research and Academic Building draws deep from the inspiration of its surroundings to create something completely new in the heart of our historic campus – a state-of-the-art translational research facility and academic building designed in harmony with the surrounding local ecology.
Learn more about the design and building process for UCSF’s new Bakar Research and Academic Building from Alicia Murasaki, UCSF Campus Architect, as she takes us on a tour during construction.
Vaulted entries designed from forest canopy curvatures welcome students and faculty, while exterior motifs modeled on the local underlying Franciscan Chert lithography ground the building uniquely in San Franciscan foundations. As the building rises, custom panels of reflective glass that mimic seasonal celebrity Karl the Fog will catch light in shifting patterns throughout the day, creating an iconic, morphic facade on the western end of campus. Leading energy efficiency throughout the building underlines the unprecedented new research capabilities for the Bakar Research and Academic Building. New classrooms with panoramic windows will illuminate learning, and the new building will serve as the new home for UCSF’s School of Nursing starting in 2027.
The new facility is designed by UCSF in partnership with HGA, Snøetta, and Plomp with landscape design by SCAPE and LMS.
Learn more about UCSF's Parnassus Heights campus and capital projects:
https://www.ucsf.edu/parnassus-initiative/research-and-academic-building
For an audio described version of this video click the link below:
youtu.be/1Ki_H0sQnSg
#UCSF #Architecture #architecturedesign #Research #SanFrancisco
Inspired by Karl the Fog and UCSF’s Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve, the new UCSF Barbara and Gerson Bakar Research and Academic Building draws deep from the inspiration of its surroundings to create something completely new in the heart of our historic campus – a state-of-the-art translational research facility and academic building designed in harmony with the surrounding local ecology.
Learn more about the design and building process for UCSF’s new Bakar Research and Academic Building from Alicia Murasaki, UCSF Campus Architect, as she takes us on a tour during construction.
Vaulted entries designed from forest canopy curvatures welcome students and faculty, while exterior motifs modeled on the local underlying Franciscan Chert lithography ground the building uniquely in San Franciscan foundations. As the building rises, custom panels of reflective glass that mimic seasonal celebrity Karl the Fog will catch light in shifting patterns throughout the day, creating an iconic, morphic facade on the western end of campus. Leading energy efficiency throughout the building underlines the unprecedented new research capabilities for the Bakar Research and Academic Building. New classrooms with panoramic windows will illuminate learning, and the new building will serve as the new home for UCSF’s School of Nursing starting in 2027.
The new facility is designed by UCSF in partnership with HGA, Snøetta, and Plomp with landscape design by SCAPE and LMS.
Learn more about UCSF's Parnassus Heights campus and capital projects:
https://www.ucsf.edu/parnassus-initiative/research-and-academic-building
For an audio described version of this video click the link below:
youtu.be/1Ki_H0sQnSg
#UCSF #Architecture #architecturedesign #Research #SanFrancisco
