| The new student center serves to activate campus life by transforming a once underused area into a central social hub for the Caltech community. Respecting the historically significant context of the Olive Walk, the project was originally conceived as a renovation of a mid-century building. Through collaborative analysis between owner/builder/architect, it was identified that a replacement building would be both economically sound and more fully aligned with the Institute’s mission of creating a collegial, interdisciplinary environment.
The new building focuses on maximizing flexible open space, minimizing impact on campus circulation and well used outdoor spaces, and connecting interior functions of the building with all four exterior sides. The new LEED Platinum designed center provides a bookstore, café and lounge, multi-purpose lecture hall, music rehearsal hall, club rooms, and a large outdoor patio which engages and connects the center of campus radially
The architectural massing and expression of the new Student Center pay homage to the rich and established heritage of the Caltech campus while maintaining a strong and individual identity of a 21st century campus center. Orthogonal and simplistic massing, vertically proportioned and repetitively cadenced fenestration, unique and identifiable entrances, and welcoming shaded arcades define the campus environment and physical fabric.
The center defines two distinct, almost platonic, masses that simultaneously hover above the first floor and ground themselves in a harmonic balance. Smooth and single-toned plaster reinforces the strength of these masses and their contrast to the large punched openings on the second floor.
A 90 degree rotation of the southern mass, containing a rehearsal hall on the second floor that floats over an open breezeway, performs a number of tasks.
1. Separates the noise-intensive actitvities within the hall from the rest of the building program.
2. Embraces and protects an outdoor gathering area
3. Creates a formal address to Olive Walk
4. Creates a portal that physically connects the north and south end of the campus. A redefinition of the “arcade” so prevalent throughout the campus. “From a building ON the campus, to a building woven into the fabric of the campus.”
The project aimed to maximize collaboration and trust through its Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) method - a first for the campus - wherein the builder, architect, client, and major sub trades share in the risk/reward of the project success. The project was constructed on-time for the 2019 fall semester for a stipulated sum of $16M, decided on by the IPD team.
Already highly integrated into the campus as a space for gathering and exchange, the new student center has been proclaimed by Institute leadership as "the building that should have always been there."
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