McGraw/Baldwin Architects designs PharMingen using "feng-shui".

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 1994--McGraw/Baldwin Architects, a firm known for its design of specialized facilities for corporate, municipal and advanced-technology clients, has completed design for the administrative, research and development, and production facilities for PharMingen of San Diego.

The design incorporates "feng-shui," the ancient Chinese art which calculates the most favorable conditions for any venture, especially the placement and design in architecture and landscaping. Architects Philip Macey and Stephen J. Pomerenke of McGraw/Baldwin are designers for the project.

PharMingen is a biotechnology company that develops, manufactures and markets high-quality, leading-edge products for biomedical research. Its diversified technology base covers immunology, molecular biology and cell biology. The company supplies its research products to more than 1,500 academic institutions and commercial companies worldwide.

McGraw/Baldwin Architects has completed the redesign of the first building of 40,000 square feet which will house PharMingen's R&D and production facilities. The facility's administrative offices, which PharMingen presently partially occupies, is undergoing tenant improvements in 8,000 square feet of the 40,000 square-foot second building, to include a new lobby, conference center, lunchroom and kitchenette.

McGraw/Baldwin has also redesigned the campus plan for 3.2 acres surrounding the two buildings.

PharMingen President and CEO Ernest Huang, Ph.D., said he was very pleased when project architects Macey and Pomerenke were able to successfully incorporate the concepts of feng-shui throughout the design of his company campus.

"The campus has been designed to facilitate communication, promote harmony in our company and encourage teamwork," Huang said. "McGraw/Baldwin's depth of experience in the design of bioscience facilities, and their ability to understand our company needs and translate them into the intricate plan of our buildings and landscape, are certainly valued."

The philosophy of feng-shui is based on the tenet that "ch'i," or "breath of life," exists in all people and homes and must be harnessed to one's best advantage. In feng-shui, water represents wealth. Every circle or arc in PharMingen's design springs from the new fountain designed by McGraw/Baldwin, located in the center of the courtyard, weaving throughout the structure.

The number "eight" is critical in feng-shui. Eight circles have been designed to radiate from the fountain's center point to channel its positive energy. They are formed by designs such as site walls which define the lobby and the eight stepping stones leading to the building's entry.

The facility itself is built with the ocean to the west and a hill dropping off to the east. McGraw/Baldwin's planning reoriented the existing improvements in order to capture the positive energy from the ocean without letting it flow to the east.

Incorporating specific design requirements is a strength of the 18-year-old architectural firm. McGraw/Baldwin has designed facilities for a number of biopharmaceutical and advanced-technology companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Advanced Tissue Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Gensia Inc., Hybritech, IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp. and Mallinckrodt Medical.

PharMingen is located at 10975 and 10995 Torreyana Road in San Diego. All design has been completed and approved, and construction is expected to be completed by the end of February 1995.

CONTACT: Randolph Communications, La Jolla, Calif.

Debbie Kamens, 619/452-0111