Campbell Hall is an academic building at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. Housing Berkeley's

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

department, it is linked by a bridge to the

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

department in the building formerly named LeConte Hall. It is named after astronomer and former university president

William Wallace Campbell William Wallace Campbell (April 11, 1862 – June 14, 1938) was an American astronomer, and director of Lick Observatory from 1901 to 1930. He specialized in spectroscopy. He was the tenth president of the University of California from 1923 to 1 ...

History

The original Campbell Hall was built from 1957 to 1959. Its design is a combination of

modernist architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...

, encouraged by a 1951 Campus Plan Study performed by the Office of Architects and Engineers, and the Beaux Arts/ neo-classical design of earlier buildings. Campbell Hall was constructed to house the departments of astronomy, statistics, and mathematics, and the campus computer center. The Department of Astronomy has remained in the building since its completion, but the other programs mostly relocated to nearby buildings. Two small

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. ...

domes were incorporated into Campbell Hall, but it was soon decided that it was not a useful location for astronomical observation because of weather and increasing urban light pollution. In addition to the astronomy and astrophysics programs, it currently houses various administrative offices for the College of Letters and Sciences, including the dean's office. The original building was rated seismically poor and was demolished in 2012. Its replacement, opened in 2015, is part of a long-term campus project to modernize, expand, and better integrate the physics complex at UC Berkeley. The new building has 25% more square footage than the old one and houses laboratories, instructional spaces, academic and administrative offices, support spaces, a research laboratory called the Center for Integrated Precision and Quantum Measurement that is a high-stability, low-noise research facility, and a rooftop observatory. The new building is certified

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

Gold. Construction was funded in part with a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce,

NIST The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...

. The new building was designed by STUDIOS Architecture.

References

{{coord, 37.873199, -122.257063, display=title University of California, Berkeley buildings