The Coastal Biology Building is an academic laboratory and office building housing 22 labs, a core seawater facility, 49 faculty, graduate student, and administration offices, and 2 conference/lecture rooms. The building is located on the coastal campus (Long Marine Lab) of UC Santa Cruz. U-shaped in plan, the building wraps around a central courtyard. The north leg is a long, two-story laboratory wing; the south leg encloses a tall seminar hall, and the base of the U houses administration offices and a saltwater laboratory and classroom. The coastal site required the approval of the California Coastal Commission, which places rigorous design constraints on the architectural design. The project also included two custom greenhouses nearby and five manufactured greenhouses. The structural system developed by the team consists of steel framing on a pier-and-grade beam foundation. The undersides of both the roof and second floor are architecturally exposed Epic deck with trapezoidal grooves for hanging lights and utilities. The building design includes bracing against wind and earthquake loads with buckling-restrained braces in a special configuration that capitalizes on the braces and forms a rigid spine.