After more than two years of construction and a singular ribbon cutting, the Integrative Genomics Building (IGB) opened its doors for the first time to the staff who will soon call it home.

On June 19, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) celebrated the edifice with notable speakers articulating the vision for the building and its future inhabitants, before offering attendees a chance to tour the first floor.

“The reason for this building is a vision for integrating the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and the Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase) into the main campus of the Laboratory,” said Berkeley Lab Director Michael Witherell. The two institutions, both funded by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) at the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, have historically been off-site: JGI in Walnut Creek, about 18 miles away, and KBase at Aquatic Park.