The University of California, Irvine has selected LMN Architects and Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction to design and build a new $46 million classroom and office building project. In the campus’s central greenspace, the new 70,000-square-foot building will promote diversity, group learning, and social interaction.
LMN’s creative approach of unlocking the site and rearranging the program led to a bold design solution that enhances the overall experience for both students and faculty, said UCI Campus Architect Brian Pratt, LEED AP. We are delighted with the results.
The design comprises three main masses. An elliptical pavilion is to feature two stories of lecture halls, whose seating arrangements are particularly suited to group work. The pavilion will anchor the entry plazas, with an exterior loggia to meet a pedestrian level while vertical windows wash the interior with an animated glow. A three-story classroom wing is framed by a student mixing hall, bathed in natural light that filters through the exterior sunshade latticework. A series of community spaces within the building capture views of the expansive surrounding landscape. Finally, a bridge with vertical circulation and gathering spaces connects these two structures.
Based on best design and best value, UCI’s system provides a unique opportunity for flexibility and creativity in the design process, said Rashmi Mehta, Senior Vice President of Hathaway Dinwiddie. They have developed one of the most sophisticated design-build processes in the industry, which has resulted in high-quality yet cost-effective, sustainable architecture on their campus.
Indeed, sustainability was a key concern for this proposal, which aims to become the 15th LEED Platinum building on a campus that was first to win the Sierra Club’s distinction of Greenest University two years in a row. The project will be the latest in LMN Architects and Hathaway Dinwiddie’s design-build collaboration, which has also resulted in the recently completed Paul Merage School of Business addition and Department of Continuing Education Classroom Building on UCI’s campus.
News via: LMN Architects
