HENLEY HALL

Henley Hall was a donor-funded project designed by Kieran Timberlake and erected for the University of California Santa Barbara’s College of Engineering by Sundt Construction. The building houses the college’s Institute for Energy Efficiency, which serves to drive advances in energy technology thru research focused on the way that people use energy, and the way scientists think about it. The project received a LEED Platinum Award as a result of the innovative mechanical designs and passive solar components associated with the orientation and configuration of the building – a significant milestone to achieve for a research and laboratory building.

Designed with flexible laboratory spaces that can adapt to research from varied disciplines and future technological advancements, the north facing curtain wall looks out over protected wetlands towards the Santa Ynez Mountains affording researchers phenomenal views, while taking advantage of ambient light and allowing passersby to view the research activity inside.

The overall project totals 49,900 GSF and is comprised of both wet and dry labs, collaborative break-out spaces, conference rooms, a 124 seat lecture hall, and faculty and administrative offices. The easterly and southerly facades employ terra cotta elements for shading which are juxtaposed against local Santa Barbara Sandstone. One of the most unique features of this building is the three-story open-air atrium that allows for ambient air flow throughout the more publicly-oriented easterly wing.

Henley Hall was constructed over a two-year period between 2019 and 2021 and delivered on time and under budget, despite being challenged by catastrophic flooding and mudslides that shut down all methods of ground transportation during the pre-construction phase and the onset of COVID approximately midway thru construction.