UCSD Student Center Expansions
LA JOLLA, CA
Project Type: Design-Build
Owner: University of California San Diego
Value: $5,315,546
Completion: 2006
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Educational Facility
New Construction
13,593 Total Square Feet
Completed On-Schedule
Zero Reportable Injuries/Lost Workdays
Sustainable Design Features Included
“Outstanding” Owner References
ABC National Excellence in Construction
Eagle Award, Best Project in the Nation – Institutional, 2006
The project scope involved construction of two new two-story buildings totaling 13,593 square feet at the original Student Center. The buildings were designed to house student resource centers, a new café/lounge terrace/dining area in the form of a living room with a bank of lounge chairs, a multi-media conference room, a 3,000 book library, kitchen and counseling room as well as offices and conference space.
The project also included space for a Women’s Center, which is a 24-hour student study lounge and the David Bohnett Wireless CyberCenter. The center is a space in which students, faculty, staff and the community work collaboratively to foster the educational, professional and personal development of diverse groups of women. The Center affords education and support to all members of UCSD and provides space for programs ranging from Legal Clinics, to Women in Science and Engineering panels, a dedicated lactation room for fursing mothers, a counseling room, a holistic center and a speakers bureau.
Construction was performed on this busy campus at the Student Center on an urban site with very limited access and parking. This created challenges in establishing construction staging areas since the site stood on the main pedestrian route between various colleges of study and the University Center, which houses the Geisel Library, Price Student Center and the University Book Store. With no direct access roads to the site, equipment and material deliveries required the use of pedestrian walkways and ramps, which were still in use by the college community. Straub provided safety flaggers for public safety and scheduled deliveries and many other construction activities at times when student pedestrian traffic was the lowest.