The Kinross Staging Building was conceived as a temporary home in a permanent building for displaced departments on the UCLA campus while original facilities undergo seismic renovations and technological upgrades. By responding to tight budget and schedule demands, Ehrlich Architects provided a permanent campus structure consisting of 75,000 square feet of flexible classroom/lab/office space. This "flexible factory" provides a versatile arrangement open to adaptation and technological innovation.
The building responds to its varied surroundings through configuration and material expression. The north facade consists primarily of CMU block and orients the main entry towards the heart of the UCLA campus, while the structure to the south is a composition of steel and glass that provides outdoor support yards for the buildings first tenants: World Arts and Culture and the Art Department.
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This building exceeds our expectations, meeting all of our criteria.”
Marc Fisher, former UCLA Campus Architect
The firm conceived a tripartite scheme for the building that fosters a conceptually diverse facility separated by fire area separation walls of CMU. By establishing separate zones the building is not required to be fire-rated, a significant cost reducing factor. Project programming, design and construction documentation were completed in only eight months and the project was bid more than a million dollars below the projected budget.
