The 18,000-square-foot, three-story Theory Center on the north side of the Central Plaza is constructed of concrete faced with stainless steel, glass, and light-colored Texas fossilstone. The Theory Center houses the offices for the Institute’s theoretical scientists, visiting scientists, administrative and Institute Relations staff, computer facilities, a reading room, kitchen, dining room, library, and conference rooms. The exterior concrete slanting walkway is architecturally dramatic yet functional: it makes the Central Plaza accessible to the physically challenged as well as providing a visual counterpoint to the horizontal and vertical lines of the building. The building is entered by crossing over a low Japanese-style bridge that is the threshold to the lobby and office areas.

The broad U-shaped structure on the western boundary of the campus is The Walsh Family Laboratories Building. Carved into the ridge of North Torrey Pines Road, it provides 25,000 square feet for experimental research laboratories, scientific offices, a conference room, and sophisticated research equipment. Two staircases inserted in the joints where the structure bends connect the roof terrace to the central plaza, interrupting the Laboratory’s glassy length. The angled glass and steel façade facing east extends to form a parapet and guardrail along the roof terrace. The walkway and terrace on the roof lead from a parking lot on the south to a tunnel under North Torrey Pines Road on the north and west, connecting the Institute to independent neighboring research institutes, a medical complex, and hotels west of North Torrey Pines Road.

The Auditorium extends east from the central plaza and hosts diverse functions for scientists. Noted acoustician Cyril Harris worked with Tod Williams Billie Tsien Associates to create the 10,000-square-foot, 352-seat hall. Gerald Edelman views music and art as an integral part of the Institute’s humanist culture. As a community service, the Auditorium is made available without charge for use by select not-for-profit performing arts organizations. Considered to be among the most acoustically impressive small performance halls in the United States, the Auditorium has an original system of faceted, sound dispersing plaster panels that covers its walls and ceiling. A pyramidal design diffuses sound to create a uniform acoustical environment. Artists and audiences unequivocally confirm that the same sound is heard in every seat. The facility is crowned with a curving roof and entered from a loggia with large glass doors framed in California redwood.

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