UC Berkeley Barbara and Gerson Bakar Gateway Building

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

Designed to address the biggest questions in sciences and society, UC Berkeley’s Barbara and Gerson Bakar Gateway Building is a magnetic home for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Location

Berkeley, California

Client

University of California, Berkeley

Expertise

[FPO] Architecture [FPO] Interior Design Education Brand Design Strategy [FPO] Climate Action [FPO] Sustainability

Opportunity

To harness the full creative potential of computing, data science, and artificial intelligence, UC Berkeley created its first new college in 50 years.

As the pace of innovation accelerates, academic research can no longer afford to be siloed; it must embrace collaboration to produce breakthrough ideas. By establishing the new College of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS), UC Berkeley placed a significant bet on an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental pedagogy to drive new outcomes. The breadth and diversity of departments within CDSS necessitated a dynamic academic setting to serve as a catalyst for campus innovation.

Why This Matters

01
Breaking Academic Silos
This facility had to dedicate much more space to unassigned shared work areas and gathering than other similar academic facilities as a strategy to foster new relationships and accelerate discovery.
02
Campus and Community Activation
At a prominent site on the north edge of campus, the building had to frame a new campus gateway while offering welcoming outdoor areas and visual transparency to invite participation.
03
Advancing UC Berkeley’s Vision
As a campus that embraces its public mission, the home of a new program had to offer a bold ecosystem of spaces for innovation and urgent problem-solving.

The Barbara and Gerson Bakar Gateway Building will be a magnet, bringing together scholars from disciplines across campus to forge new collaborations and take on some of the most critical questions facing society today.

Solution

The building is designed to promote serendipitous encounters. Diverse lab and office work areas offer flexibility and choice while social kitchens draw people together.

Bold and identifiable, the Barbara and Gerson Bakar Gateway Building is a magnet for researchers, students, and faculty, with new academic work settings informed by Gensler’s extensive tech workplace experience. While departments are given unique identities through individual spaces, silos are eliminated by linking them through shared areas in piazzas, social kitchens, and workplace neighborhoods. Large floorplates and stairways connect people horizontally and vertically with social kitchens as attractors that initiate the spontaneous interactions essential to innovation. Sustainability solutions support the experience, including daylight distribution, operable windows, and radiant heat.

From brief to build: how an interdisciplinary college became an academic connector for discovery, community, and campus access.

The design emerged through conversations with campus leaders and user representatives, supported by research, iterative exploration, and concept testing. Designed by WEISS/MANFREDI in collaboration with Gensler, the building is shaped from the inside out, using program adjacency, daylight, circulation, and shared amenities to reconcile private office needs with the university’s ambition for cross-disciplinary exchange. The process also advanced inclusive access, all-electric performance, and a contextual campus presence that reinforces Campus Park while opening a new route through the site.

Impact

A new literal gateway for the university and its district that defines a modern architectural language for the campus while respecting its history and place.

Showcasing the dynamic work occurring within, the building propels UC Berkeley’s mission forward as a human-centered, highly visible catalyst for interdisciplinary exchange.

What Changed Because of This

01
Campus Destination
A new accessible route through the site, public café, and shared spaces turn the building into a more open and connected campus destination.
02
Research Made Visible
Transparent ground-floor programs, including a public café and gallery, increase visibility into the research happening inside and invite broader engagement.
03
Collaboration-Driven Outcomes
Piazzas, social kitchens, and flexible work settings give faculty, students, and researchers everyday opportunities to connect across disciplines.

Team leader quotE

Recognition

01

UC Berkeley News

A look at how the Barbara and Gerson Bakar Gateway Building will bring diverse thinkers together to accelerate innovation and real-world impact.

02

California Magazine

Cal Alumni Association’s official publication highlights the project’s significance as both a symbol of Berkeley’s future and a key enabler of a major campus transformation.

Team

Project Leadership

Hao Ko

Hao is Gensler's Global Director of Design and a Regional Design Principal, focusing on building a dynamic practice through an open and collaborative culture. An inquisitive architect by nature, he is passionate about transforming experiences through deep research, the craft of technical excellence, and rigorous intellectual thought, all while striving to design beautiful places that change people's lives for the better.

Sandy Mendler

Sandy is a nationally recognized architect and planner focused on creating inspiring new models for healthy, sustainable living. She brings deep expertise as an Education practice area leader for Gensler’s Northwest region, driving the design of college and university facilities that build vibrant communities, advance research, and support student-centered experiential learning.

[FPO] Mark McMinn

Placeholder for office leadership name "Mark McMinn" — no matching pagePeople yet. "pnpm migrate resolve-stubs" swaps this for the real page once it exists.

Melissa Mizell

Melissa is a Principal and Design Director in Gensler's San Francisco office who believes great spaces come from designing with the user's point of view in mind. You can see it in her work across many project types, including workplace, higher education, aviation, and retail.

FAQ

01

What is the Barbara and Gerson Bakar Gateway Building?

The new building is home to the College of Computing, Data, Science, and Society (CDSS) and conceived as a connected hub for academic research and innovation.

02

What spaces are included in the project?

The 380,000-square-foot facility includes research laboratories, offices, meeting rooms, classrooms, a public café, a gallery, and an event space.

03

How does the design support collaboration?

The building is organized around shared piazzas, social kitchens, and workplace neighborhoods, with connected floorplates and stairs initiating spontaneous interactions.

04

What sustainability and inclusion strategies are part of the project?

The all-electric building is designed for LEED Gold and is targeting LEED Platinum certification, with solutions like daylighting distribution, operable windows, and radiant heat enhancing the user experience. It creates a new route through campus for greater accessibility with visual transparency for intuitive wayfinding.

05

Who designed the building?

WEISS/MANFREDI designed the building in collaboration with Gensler, with the project opening in August 2026.

Related Work

project

Convergence Hall

A next generation innovation hub in Draper, Utah, unites research, entrepreneurship, and short-term living, creating a connected ecosystem where proximity drives discovery, exchange, and impact.

project

Southwestern College Student Union

Southwestern College’s new Student Union creates a vibrant center of gravity for campus life, bringing student services and community together to foster access, visibility, and belonging.

project

[FPO] CSU Northridge, Maple Hall

Placeholder — not migrated yet.

project

[FPO] Western Kentucky University Amy and David Chandler Hall

Placeholder — not migrated yet.

project