NOAA Laboratory Green Roof

La Jolla, California

Built into a 200-foot-high coastal bluff in La Jolla, California, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) facility was developed to replace the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and support NOAA’s long-standing partnership with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. The 3.3-acre site presented significant design and construction challenges due to its steep topography and limited developable area, requiring an integrated approach that carefully balanced building performance, environmental stewardship, and site constraints.

The facility incorporates a range of sustainable design strategies, including advanced water retention systems, the use of recycled materials, and vegetated roof systems planted with native California coastal species. JBC Landscape Architects designed a series of green roof gardens that function as stepped, accessible landscape terraces, supporting NOAA’s mission of environmental research and public education.

These green roofs were engineered to replicate the ecology of the surrounding coastal dune environment within a constrained roof profile, requiring specialized agronomic soil design and carefully calibrated irrigation and water distribution systems. Together, the green roof terraces restore native habitat, reestablish natural ecological processes, and transform the building rooftops into functional, educational landscapes that reconnect the facility to its coastal setting.