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Cal Poly Pomona Student Housing and Dining Commons
Cal Poly’s new residential towers and dining commons serve as a highly visible entry point—transforming the campus into a modern-living cosmopolitan populace. The two mid-rise student housing buildings interlace shared social spaces, natural light, and open-air connections throughout the entire eight floors of each structure. Every floor has two 35-student households, providing many places to congregate, socialize, and study. A diversity of connections between indoors and outdoors is a defining feature. Ground-floor amenities are connected to outdoor spaces, promoting socialization and wellness. Balconies on the fifth floor connect students living on upper floors to the outdoors while living rooms and lounges use full-height glass to queue students into the social activities happening inside. Bedrooms feature abundant natural light while hallways end in views toward the campus and capture amazing views of the San Gabriel Mountains.
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TREND PRODUCTS: DESIGN GALLERIST
Rancho Campana High School
Preparing the next generation of students for success in an ever-growing world takes planning and foresight. So Oxnard Union High School District (OUHSD) and the agricultural communities of Camarillo and Somis, Calif. took a proactive, research-based approach when envisioning Rancho Campana High School. Together with community leaders, district representatives, and teachers, OUHSD developed an educational vision for this new high school that aligns with career opportunities now and into the future. Our design solutions bring OUHSD’s vision to life and plants the seeds for Rancho Campana High School’s students to succeed.
Orchard School Library
Inside, the dramatic full-height glass brings natural light deep into the expanded space. With the circulation desk installed in the center of the space, librarians are now able to survey students while greeting anyone coming and going. Dark instructional spaces were relocated to corners filled with natural light. The renovated existing space now houses stacks for the 18,000-volume collection, along with a new technology lab. Using the latest green design—a high-performance exterior building envelope, interior daylighting, natural ventilation, photovoltaic panels, upgraded mechanical systems, green-certified interior furnishings and finishes, water-saving plumbing fixtures, and careful siting and orientation to reduce solar heat gain—it’s now the first LEED Gold certified K-12 public school building in the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center
The result is a four-story, 137,500-SF outpatient center that helps reestablish the Martin Luther King, Jr. Medical Center campus as a healthcare leader—providing urgent care, an ambulatory surgery center and more than a dozen specialty clinics. A unique ribbon structure—a sinuous wave of glass and steel—fits seamlessly within the context of the existing campus and reflects the bright new vision for the medical “village.” The ribbon defines both the outpatient center and adjacent hospital entries, creating a new aesthetic for the campus. In addition to reducing space needs, staff, and operational costs, our client wanted to boost staff performance. So, functional and organizational design solutions were critical. Within each department, the nurses’ workstations are centralized between banks of exam or procedure rooms. This gives hospital staff excellent visual control of the area and dramatically reduces footsteps to those rooms. We also relocated a mass transit drop-off, crosswalks, traffic signal, and street alignment to accommodate the significant number of patients who arrive on foot or by mass transit. Celebrating King’s legacy, visitors are greeted by a full, story-high mural of him framed in the glass façade of the entry.
Kaiser Permanente La Habra Medical Office Building
Upon arrival, patients can conveniently check themselves in with Kaiser’s self-service kiosks. To help shorten the perception of wait times and reduce anticipation, we designed hospitable indoor and outdoor waiting areas. While waiting, members can sit comfortably or wander freely within the public square, where Kaiser staff comes to greet patients. This open area features a variety of contemporary, flexible seating arrangements, community tables outfitted with iPads, and electronic charging stations. Patients are also free to wait outdoors, where they are welcomed with Kaiser’s “Thrive Path” which consists of fitness equipment, a children’s play area, and other opportunities that promote health and education. To introduce Kaiser to the community, we incorporated areas that are accessible to the public. Regardless of membership, local neighbors are welcomed to the facility’s public square, and also to outdoor activities and events, such as the onsite farmer’s market. Full-spectrum color, balanced finish and material selections, concrete-like and wood plank flooring, and exposed ceilings were used to create a contemporary space. The new facility enhances the connection between the community and a culture of wellness, providing opportunities for members, staff, and the public to thrive within the Total Health experience it creates. The ultra-low energy facility achieved LEED Platinum certification in 2018 through a combination of sustainable strategies including efficient HVAC design, cool roof coating, high insulation in walls and roof, dynamic tinting glass, daylight harvesting, renewable energy, and adaptive/drought-tolerant vegetation. The facility is the first LEED Platinum-certified medical office building in Southern California.
Golden West College Math and Science Building
STEM education has transformed the typical teacher-centered classroom and encourages a collaborative curriculum focused on interdisciplinary problem-solving. Smashing barriers and accommodating the various ways students learn is the hallmark of STEM. So, when tasked to design the new Math and Science Building at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, we not only wanted to create engaging and flexible twenty-first century teaching and learning spaces, we were also determined to put these spaces on display.
San Diego State University Zura Hall Renovation
Originally built in 1968, Zura Hall lacked community spaces for students and the three-bedroom wings were disconnected. Using the CSU system’s Collaborative Design-Build process, our team was able to complete the project with an accelerated schedule for the September 2015 grand opening and succeed in creating a sustainable, connected community that embodies the surf culture of SDSU. We enclosed the existing core around the elevators to create interior study rooms and lounge areas, and also to help connect all of Zura Hall’s wings with each other. The first floor now features a TV lounge, community kitchen with a large communal table, rec room, and a flexible study room that can be used as a classroom. All these spaces open up to adjacent outdoor space with fire pits and a resort-like vibe. SDSU’s surf culture shines through with a large mural by surf artist Andy Davis in the front entry as well as custom, recycled surfboards made by local surfboard shapers on display on each floor.
Kaiser Beaverton Health Hub
Seven miles outside of Portland, Oregon is Beaverton–a town with 30 hiking trails and 100 parks connected by over 25 miles of bike paths. The young, tech-savvy, nature-loving residents of this quintessential Oregon city were the perfect demographic for Kaiser Permanente’s, RAD (re-imagining ambulatory design) concept. Kaiser’s RAD concept aims to create the highest level of consistency in design, standardize the patient experience, and transform traditional medical office buildings (MOBs) into patient-centric and design-driven health hubs.
County of San Diego North Coastal Live Well Health Center Building
When a client’s purpose is to promote wellness, self-sufficiency, and a better quality of life to families, it’s only natural that their built environment be healthy—responsible for energy consumption and harmonious with natural surroundings. Located in Oceanside, California, the new County of San Diego North Coastal Live Well Health Center Building building is a Zero Net Energy (ZNE) facility inspired by the local natural resources it’s designed to protect.
Nogales High School Revitalization
Built-in the 1960s, Nogales High School in Rowland Heights, CA was always committed to delivering the best possible learning environments for its students, staff, and community. But, as one of the oldest schools in the district, it had become a hodgepodge of additions and temporary portable buildings with a growing list of maintenance issues. With many of its buildings beyond repair, HMC Architects transformed the high school into a beaming new campus—all while classes were still in session.
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