The project by Morris Architects for a new information technology and media center for Santa Monica Community College in California includes 12,000 square feet of new space and approximately 6,000 square feet of renovation to the existing campus library. The college currently has an enrollment of 30,000 students and is experiencing rapid growth that requires a major upgrade to its current information technology department and computing infrastructure. More images and architects’ description after the break.
In addition to the specific functional and maintenance requirements of an IT/media center, the college had three principal architectural goals. The first was to reverse the current and all too typical trend to sequester the information technology staff away in residual space with little or no natural light; the College specifically desired for the department to be visible and seen as the equal of the academic faculty.
