The Helios program was an effort by UC Berkeley to address the need for sustainable, carbon-neutral fuels production. The Energy Biosciences Institute—housed within the new building—performs groundbreaking research aimed at the development of new energy sources, initially focusing on renewable biofuels for transportation. The institute also pursues improvements in the extraction, conversion and storage of fuels and by-products. The 112,600 sf building includes wet and dry laboratories, support space, and an 80-seat conference room. The building’s structural system was designed using Building Information Modeling and is a combination of special moment and buckling-restrained braced frames. Rutherford + Chekene provided structural engineering services.