If all goes according to plan, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) at the University of California, San Diego should begin construction of its new conference center by spring 2007.
The Robert Paine Scripps Forum for Science, Society and the Environment, a 9,000-square-foot building that will cost approximately $10 million and be constructed south of Scripps Pier, will be the site of a 275-seat auditorium and house conferences on the ocean, earth, atmosphere and marine life sciences.
“Scripps is a world center for scientific collaboration and a place to exchange ideas and increase understanding,” said Nigella Hillgarth, chair for Scripps External Relations and executive director of SIO’s Birch Aquarium. “It [the center] will allow us to further our search for a sustainable environment in the future.”
Not only will the center serve as a venue for scientific conferences, it will also be a place for everyday staff meetings, workshops and a site for some classes on campus and will include several adjacent buildings, Hillgarth said.
The Scripps campus, which is part of the University of California, San Diego and lies on the beach-front property directly below UCSD’s campus, has one auditorium, which is 40 years old and does not posses the technology needed for scientific conferences, according to Hillgarth.
UCSD’s chancellor matched the $750,000 the institution has raised in private donations, completing Scripps’ goal for the center’s construction finances. The institution still needs approximately $3 million to complete the interior of the building, Hillgarth said.
Planning for the Scripps forum has been in the works for seven years, and was created by the former Scripps director, Dr. Charles Kennel, who retired in September. The center was named in honor of the son of E.W. Scripps, the institution’s co-founder.
The project still has to be cleared by the California Coastal Commission. No additional parking structures will be constructed for the center and the building will be tailored to blend in with the environment so that it is unobtrusive to the ocean view, according to Hillgarth.
“It’s going to be a very low building that fits in extremely well with the local environment,” she said. “It’s very beautiful, with a lot of space trellises between the buildings and lots of plants. The idea is it will blend in with the landscape.”
Everyone at Scripps, including current director Tony Haymet, is excited about the upcoming project and believes it will be a significant addition to the campus, Hillgarth said.
“The center will allow us to bring people together from all sorts of disciplines into a beautiful, inspiring setting to come up with solutions for our planet,” she said.
For more information about the Robert Paine Scripps Forum, or to learn more about SIO, visit www.scripps.ucsd.edu.