Housing one of the country’s preeminent environmental research groups, Stanford University’s Leslie Shao-Ming Sun Field Station was designed to demonstrate how buildings can minimize their negative environmental impacts by reducing the use of virgin materials and achieving net zero carbon emissions. The field station — which houses offices, laboratories, classrooms, a library, and an herbarium – is located at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in Woodside, CA.

In addition to sustainability strategies such as renewable energy and passive cooling, material reuse also serves to reduce environmental impact.  Demolition projects around the university provided an abundance of materials, including redwood siding for the facade, brick pavers at the entries, and operable skylights for the roof.  The laboratory and office casework were salvaged from an East Bay biotech company and the building’s distinctive bathroom partitions were taken from a campus chemistry building originally constructed in 1902. Material reuse, like the building’s publicly available energy usage tracker, provide tangible opportunities for researchers and visitors near and far to see and engage the results of the project’s conscientious design.

Key Info
Location: Woodside, CA
Date of Completion: 2002
Architect: Rob Wellington Quigley Architects
Client: Stanford University
Contractor: W.L. Butler Construction, Inc.

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Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve