SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture for a New Building, Merit Award

Humanities and Social Sciences Facility at the University of California, Santa Cruz, CA and THA Architecture, Portland OR

Photo by Cesar Rubio

Photo by Tim McKenzie

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The University of California at Santa Cruz Humanities and Social Sciences Facility added academic offices and research space to address space shortages and campus growth needs as determined by the 1988 Long Range Development Plan. 

Goals and objectives included reintegrating humanities and social sciences which were previously dispersed throughout the campus, making spontaneous interdisciplinary collaboration difficult. 

The challenge was to place the facility within the fragile and beautiful natural environment of heavily sloping topography and towering redwoods, while creating a strong identity and campus presence for the building. 

Funds had been approved under the California State-Funded Capital Program, but did not include escalation and had been based on a design that was not appropriate for the site. The project adopted a fast track construction schedule and rigorous cost control processes, including cost saving design strategies, such as locating vertical circulation outside of the building. 

The buildings’ materials respect the natural setting, and simple forms complement the landscape. 

The design established three buildings to allow different campus communities to come together around a common space. It respected space limitations by reconditioning and reusing previously non-viable land, being mindful of the ecological sensitivity of the campus. A maximum number of trees, shrubs, ground cover and other vegetation on the project site were preserved. The result is a set of beautiful buildings nestled amongst the tall coastal redwoods. 

Lessons learned/best practices include knowledge gained by designing on poor soils in a high seismic zone, benefits of naturally ventilated buildings, value of ecological sensitivity and methods of incorporating accessibility on a sloping site. The hope of the project is to facilitate rethinking how departments are organized with regard to cross-college interaction and encourage a philosophy of common culture. 

The jury said, “ . . . remarkable job . . . honest expression of the materials . . . beautiful . . . .”

Project Team: University of California, Santa Cruz, and THA Architecture, with Devcon Construction Incorporated; Forell/Elsesser Engineers, Inc.; and Taylor Engineering