UCSB's Latest Building Project

Parking Lot 12 New Home for Henley Hall

Depending on what side of the campus you are on, you may have noticed some of that familiar green construction fencing going up in the parking lot next to Mosher Alumni House. The Phelps Hall side of Lot 12 – the lot which extends from the Military Science Building along the north side of Phelps, flanked by Campbell Hall on one side and the Mosher Alumni House on the other up to University Plaza – has been blocked off for good. In its place will soon be the new home of the Institute for Energy Efficiency (IEE) to be known as Jeff and Judy Henley Hall, or Henley Hall for short, in honor of its benefactors.

The UC Santa Barbara IEE is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to the development of new science and technologies that support the efficient and sustainable use of energy. Research and administrative functions of the IEE are currently located in multiple buildings across the campus, including Phelps Hall, Physical Science Building North, Harold Frank Hall, Materials Research Laboratory, Engineering Science Building, and Engineering II. The 3-story structure will provide a consolidated and permanent home for the Institute which will include a 125-seat lecture hall, laboratories, offices for staff and faculty, conference rooms, courtyards, landscape areas and bicycle parking on approximately 1.2 acres.

The plans for the structure also incorporate a variety of sustainable design features to reduce the building’s water and energy use, and associated direct and indirect air emissions. The design supports the University’s sustainability goals seeking a LEED “Gold” Certification while striving to achieve a “Platinum” certification.

The project has been generously funded by Jeff and Judy Henley, who have committed $50 million to UCSB, $30 million of which is earmarked for this newest structure. Jeff Henley is vice chairman of Oracle Corporation and a UCSB alumnus who graduated in 1966.