Jennifer Woods Project Architect
Merced 3C
Merced, CA
120,000 sf // 5 stories // $48.2 million Since opening in 2005, the University of California, Merced has advanced the UC system's rich heritage, improved levels of educational attainment and quality of life while conducting life-changing research. The Merced 2020 campus expansion represented a commitment by the State of California and the University of California to increase access to the UC system for eligible state students and to support a rapidly growing region. The expansion project is a key element of Merced's vision. The 1.2 million GSF project was designed and built in three phases between 2016 and 2020. The project was implemented as a master planned initiative developed by a team of architects, planners, engineers and construction professionals. The design and construction budget was $1.3 billion and included 13 buildings and supporting infrastructure. Every building was designed to achieve at least a LEED Gold certi cation, and upon completion 11 buildings earned LEED Platinum certi cation.
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As part of the student housing expansion to bring 1,700 new beds to the campus, Housing Building 3C provides 253 beds, with N+1 growth capacity up to 450 beds. Other amenities include study rooms, lounge spaces, meeting spaces and sheltered bike storage. Ground oor public spaces include classrooms and student life space connected to the pedestrian circulation network.
RACP 2
College Station, TX 48,000 sf // 3 stories // $22.3 million The RELLIS Academic Complex Phase 2 frames the master plan’s vision of an academic core campus district and completing an edge as a compliment to Phase 1. The adjacent pedestrian walkway completed in Phase 1 serves as a backdrop for student pop-up events and functions during the academic year and knits together the other pieces of the core campus to the west. The offset of Phase 1 and Phase 2 will allow clear passage between the buildings to and from Blinn College as well as reinforcing a campus feel. The large central plaza and second and third story connections between Phase 1 and Phase 2 will allow the two projects to effectively deliver the current curriculum. Students and faculty will be able to cross freely between both phases.
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The building includes classrooms ranging from 35 to 66 seats, a 175-seat lecture hall, 7 engineering labs, 1 SCADA lab, a learning resource library and 46 faculty of ces. Working alongside the design vocabulary precedent from Phase 1, Phase 2 is guided by the same exterior selections. The use of brick with deep overhangs, stone accents, generous glazing and metal hip roofs immediately strengthen the architectural fabric of the Academic Complex. The classrooms, labs and teaching spaces will be multiuse, exible and support new digital technologies. The academic and faculty spaces are supported by break out, team study and debrie ng spaces that help de ne the convergent learning style of today’s students. Phase 2 supports student life with a large Learning Resource Center that includes small break out study rooms and numerous seating options.
ACC RR
Round Rock, TX 45,500 sf // 3 stories // $26.1 million
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This project expands on the success of the original campus by adding a new 300 space parking lot and a new three story brick and metal panel building with seven new general purpose classrooms, a new biology lab, and an approximately 10,000 square foot custom “ACCelerator” computer lab / teaching center. Faculty of ces and other support spaces round out the space. The building features large doubleheight lobby areas on the rst and second oors to open up the building spatially and encourage student interactions. The main entrance features a seating stair feature which is used for presentations and as a student gathering and study space. Large open stairs connect all three levels to promote walkability.The exterior of the building establishes a unique character while respecting the look, feel, and massing of the original campus.
SanAntonio, TX 61,200 sf // 4 stories // $30 million
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The four-story facility for Alamo Community College St. Philip’s Campus department of Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts includes ve teaching kitchen labs and two full commercial kitchen labs around which the rest of the facility is organized. The labs are located along a public corridor for easy access and visibility of the activity within by students and visitors. Back-of-house corridors connect the labs to food and dry goods storage, classrooms, and other support areas. The public spaces of the building are designed to feel like a hotel – spacious, easy to navigate, and with multiple small seating areas to promote social interaction. Additionally, the hospitality program features include a classroom with mock hotel of ce and breakout rooms with retractable walls that can function similar to hotel conference rooms or as a hotel ballroom. An attached warming kitchen allows both Hospitality and Culinary students to host and practice large catering events. The building also includes a 100 seat tiered lecture hall that can double as a food demonstration kitchen, faculty of ces, and a loading dock for ef cient delivery of goods in and out of the building. The building contains two restaurants which will be open to the public. The 1898 Café on the rst oor will serve American cuisine. The crowning jewel of the building is Artemesia’s Restaurant. Cantilevered from the north end of the building and wrapped in oorto-ceiling glass for dramatic views of the downtown San Antonio skyline, the restaurant is the namesake of the School’s founder and is where the most advanced students will prove their skills by planning menus, preparing and serving four course meals of the highest quality to the public.
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THCA