Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health

Building Information

The Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health serves as a new gateway to the Tempe campus at the southwest corner of University Drive and Rural Road.

The new, approximately 281,000 gross-square-foot, high-performance research facility fosters an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge generation and leading-edge research, including innovative endeavors focusing on the sustainability of food, water and energy.

In addition to public outreach and exhibit spaces, the center houses the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service, the College of Global Futures, the School of Sustainability, and the Institute of Human Origins. The building also includes classrooms and a conference center with a 389-seat presentation hall.

The building also has research labs for biological sciences, engineering, life sciences and sustainability. Dry lab space includes computing, cyber-security, engineering design and fabrication, and robotics.

The building is designed to meet specifications for LEED Gold at a minimum, with intentions of achieving a higher certification.

Highlights:

Campus:  Tempe
Gross Square Footage: 281,000
Total project cost: $192,000,000
Architect:  Architekton/Grimshaw
Construction team: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
Project start date:  January 2019
Project end date:  December 2021