Design/Completion 2008/2012
Irvine, California
31,000 s.f.
Building Structure: Steel structure and framing
Building Materials: High performance glazing, Trespa panels, Ipe wood lattice
Designed to achieve LEED Gold
Design Awards:
2011 AIA Orange County Design Awards: Special Citation
2011 American School & University Outstanding Design
Through a series of workshops with faculty community members, students and staff, the philosophical underpinning of the science building has taken shape. The project is a reflection of the belief that access to education is a fundamental right of each community member. The Community College Educational Program is both a bridge to higher learning and a rigorous technical training environment. This demands a building that is flexible and inspirational. The building has grown from the inside out, centered on optimal lab design; and from the outside in, linking the work spaces to the outdoor gathering areas. This strong connectivity expands from the atrium to the terraced landscape and beyond to the existing campus.
This LEED Gold building reflects its time and place, both forward reaching and rooted in the present. The relationship between the labs, the support spaces and the common areas and how those link to the campus fabric are critical to its success. Demystifying the sciences is the great equalizer. Facing the existing quad to the northwest, the building entry/atrium reaches out to ask each student to peek inside. Discovery is often about the moments in between, between schedules, between classes, between colleagues. Providing opportunities for that interaction ensures that education is not limited to the walls of the classroom.
Each side of the building is designed to respond to the unique orientation and context that surrounds it. Sustainably harvested wood grills soften the tech edges and allow sun and breeze to filter to the interior. Themed landscape elements, each reflecting a native local habitat, allow faculty to share first hand lessons with students. The orientation to the quad and the gathering areas along each edge of the site are designed specifically with the community in mind. Weekend programs, community gardening, lessons that can be taken into the home are all a part of what informs this design.
The organization of building elements is driven by the functional demands of the learning environment. Each space is connected to the surrounding environment, linking each student and faculty to the real life lessons abstracted within the lab. Openings, shades, walkways, material selection, and landscape are specific to the orientation of the facility and their impact on function and the experience. To achieve LEED Gold, every element of the project is measured against its impact on resource consumption and on the desire to positively impact the quality of the environment. Flexibility is the ultimate sustainable design strategy. This building will serve future generations and optimize the opportunity and investment made today.
