San Francisco Citizen

You know what I think? I think that it’s easier to teach a newspaper writer how to take photos than it is to teach a newspaper photographer how to write. So if you had to choose and you could only afford to send one person, you’d give a camera and send the writer, right?

That’s something to think about when you look at John King’s bits at SFGate. He does a fine job with photography on his own. Maybe even better?

Just saying.

Here’s a retread from last year. I think the new Mayor will be on the scene today to kick things off.

What’s the Next Big Thing in stem cell research? It’s got to be UCSF‘s shiny, brand-spanking-new, 700-foot-long Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research (CIRM) building from New Yawk-based Rafael Vinoly Architects.

Check it:

“The $123 million building is a series of split-level floors with terraced grass roofs and solar orientation. Open labs flow into each other, with office/interaction areas located on the circulation route between the labs, allowing for the entire research community in the building to interact.”

It’s the CIRM Worm! See?

Click to expand

It was the Modern Steel Construction Magazine cover girl earlier this year, or something, so that’s something to crow about.

As planned:

But this low-rise monster, in real life, somehow looks like:

An RV;

A boat;

A millipede; and

A Jawa Sandcrawler

And all at the same time.

Researchers have already moved in so let’s take a look why not.

Here’s the view coming up Medical Center Drive. This thing looks as if it will spring to life at any moment and start marching towards Parnassus, or Irving, to swallow a an N Judah or two:

This is how you build in Earthquake Country:

This is all the way up the hill where Med Center takes a hairpin. Kind of looks like an RV. Anterior Region in Lateral View:

Looking down the hill:

The clitellum:

And here, it sort of looks like a boat. See how it’s moored to Mount Sutro? (And hey, UCSF. Did you leave all the lights on for the entire four-day Thanksgiving weekend? O.K. fine.)

And here’s the gap betwixt floors:

Look through and you can see the ocean! (Or the bay, or the Golden Gate, or the estuary, whatever…)

Here’s the view from the roof, more or less, with a nice view of The Richmond and our Golden Gate Bridge

And here’s what we were promised, up on the roof:

And here’s what we got, it’s like weeds and International Orange chairs:

Maybe they’re still working on the vegetation.

And speaking of orange chairs, the theme continues inside:

Now, don’t fret about them concomitant radioactive materials up near the top…

…cause they have a nice outdoor shower to wash ‘em all away, Silkwood-style:

Leave us now depart the CIRM Worm:

Bon Courage, CIRM people!

They had a big party for the groundbreaking with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a couple years back, so maybe they’ll have another shindig for the official kickoff?

Read all about it or take a look at the video from back in the day.

2008 saw Arnold’s first visit ever to UCSF, so Chancellor J. Michael Bishop gave him the business about it.

The stars of the show were Arnie and Mr. Eli Broad

Was that a gold fleur-de-lys ring? Something like that.

Anyway, y’all come back.

All the deets:

“The building, which will be located on the Parnassus Campus, will house 25 principal investigators and their teams at full capacity. It will be the headquarters of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF, which will continue to include scientists across all UCSF campuses. The relocation of scientists into the building will free up space in existing laboratories/offices that will allow for additional recruitments. UCSF has recruited 16 new faculty members to the Center in the last three years. The building will be located near UCSF Medical Center, which will support the long-term goal of translating basic research findings to clinical trials.

Groundbreaking for the building, which has more than 46,000 assignable square feet and has four split-level floors, occurred in late August 2008, with completion of the project in late-2010.”