UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center

The winning entry in a Design-Build competition, this 55,000 sf Contemporary Arts Center is finely attuned to its Southern California climate and community context. The high-performance, LEED Platinum certified project, incorporates innovative strategies for energy-efficiency that become bold design ideas. Inserted into an existing urban arts campus, the five-story structure includes a large experimental black box theater and an art gallery, both double-height spaces, surrounded by multiple studios, classrooms and offices.

Reinforcing the interdisciplinary approach of the School of the Arts, the architecture stimulates interaction with the surrounding Arts Village with multiple terraces, landscaped courtyards, balconies and a colonnade. A new entrance court plaza has been planted with shade trees and fitted with wooden benches and integrated lighting to make it an inviting public gathering space.

“This building speaks about connection” - World Architecture News

Located four miles from the ocean, the complex’s benign marine climate contributed to the main design idea. The theater and gallery, the two large spaces requiring highly-mediated environmental control and lighting, are placed at the core of the building. Wrapped around them are smaller, naturally-ventilated rooms and corridors that make up most of the building exterior. The top floor consists entirely of artists' studios that are also naturally ventilated. These studios open onto outdoor terraces that double as extended work areas.

“A true win for all involved.” - Francesco Porcella, Senior Project Manager, Design and Construction Services, University of California, Irvine