University of Alaska Anchorage Conoco-Phillips Integrated Science Building

The University of Alaska Anchorage ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building (or the CPISB as it is more commonly referred to) is located on the northeast end of campus, situated alongside walking trails on one side and a parking garage and the Administration and Humanities Building on the other side. As one of the more recently completed campus buildings, the CPISB reflects a moment in the history of UAA where it underwent rapid expansion throughout the late 1990s and into the first decade of the twenty-first century. PDC Engineers later modified aspects of the building’s mechanical and electrical systems to make it more energy-efficient.

The idea for this integrated science building was to bring the various disciplines together under one roof. The CPISB hosts teaching, research, and laboratory facilities along with administrative and faculty offices, a café, and open space for students to mingle and study. The steel-braced frame features an exterior curtainwall system finished with a slate and metal rainscreen whose colors complement the wooded surroundings. The main entrance is located under an angular cantilevered roof with an oculus, and leads into a double-height atrium with a dramatic, freestanding metal staircase. This atrium connects the building's three wings: offices, teaching, and research laboratories. A 64-seat planetarium and visualization theater, with digital viewing technology, is accessed on the second floor toward the building's center. The planetarium, with its 33-foot ceiling, is used primarily for academic purposes but is sometimes open for public events and gatherings. The building offers a combination of flexible, modular, and open laboratories.

Tom Case, the chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage at the time of building's construction and completion, announced a $15 million pledge from ConocoPhillips Alaska in support of the university's science departments. As a result, the building bears the name of the multinational Houston, Texas–based corporation. This was the largest single donation to the University of Alaska Anchorage up to that point. Although legislative appropriations covered much of the building’s final cost, the ConocoPhillips pledge and endowment provided an income stream to fund undergraduate research and awards for faculty who studied topics related to Arctic science and engineering.