UC Davis Unveils A Community-Focused, Net-Zero Research Hub

Aggie Square is an ongoing development reshaping University of California, Davis’s health campus into a dense, research‑driven district where academia, industry, and the surrounding neighborhood converge. Phase 1 occupies 8.25 acres and delivers 594,500 square feet across two interconnected ZGF-designed buildings—200 and 300 Aggie Square—organized around a new 3/4‑acre plaza and a porous, community‑facing ground floor owned and developed by Wexford Science + Technology. Architecture and interiors work in tandem to dissolve traditional research‑campus boundaries. Light‑filled ground levels open in all directions, with maker spaces, classrooms, and event areas forming a public realm anchored by warm woods, exposed concrete, and local red‑clay masonry. Monumental stairs and open vertical connections act as social spines, linking floors and encouraging movement, visibility, and collaboration.

Building 200 houses flexible wet‑lab neighborhoods with side‑loaded cores, shared service zones, and interior glazing that maintains visual continuity between lab and write‑up areas. Building 300 emphasizes offices, instructional spaces, and coworking labs, with study nooks and informal meeting areas that support teaching and entrepreneurial activity. Both structures run fully electric, drawing on the region’s renewable power grid to achieve net-zero operational carbon and exceed state energy standards. A district‑wide public‑art program and strong community‑benefits commitments underscore Aggie Square’s role as an economic catalyst for South Sacramento, even as its architecture sets the tone for future phases.