Our client
The California State University (CSU) system educates the most diverse student body in the United States—ethnically, economically, and academically. With 23 campuses spanning over 800 miles from northern to southern California, CSU enrolls over 450,000 students, and the Los Angeles campus (CSULA) serves over 25,000 of these students. Originally established in 1947, CSULA is located less than ten miles from the heart of Downtown Los Angeles and offers a wide range of majors and academic programs.
Project highlights
Their challenge
The bright, artistic La Kretz Hall was named for its primary patron—real estate developer Morton La Kretz—and includes wet-labs, greenhouses, an observatory, and a Van De Graph linear accelerator. The facility is part of CSULA’s larger Annenberg Science Complex, and it supplies needed research and instructional space for faculty and students in the school’s chemistry, biology, allied health, and geology departments. Salas O’Brien was brought in to support upgrades to the building’s fume hood intensive space—another key research area.
Our solution
The bulk of the engineering services our team provided for this transition were prior to and in preparation for fume hood installation. These services included verification of the chemicals used in the new laminar flow hood (and these chemicals’ corrosive properties), an overall check for code compliance, a review of the electrical and mechanical controls interface, and the development of installation specifications. Our team also provided support during the installation.
The results
The finished fume hood intensive space is a safe, compliant environment that supports faculty and student research and study.
