UC San Diego Theatre District Living & Learning Neighborhood
Located at a dramatic bluff-top intersection in La Jolla, CA, this 2000-bed university undergraduate housing project serves as a major public gateway to the University of California San Diego campus across from the notable La Jolla Playhouse.
Inspired by the spectacular cliff-top site and its historical ecological role as a watershed straddling ocean and canyon ecosystems, the project concept became wrapped in the idea of exponential, nested ecologies.
Through the concept of Exponential Ecology, the design team of HKS+EYRC Architects is considering all aspects of the built environment and the interrelationship of physical, social, and emotional well being. This supports the University’s mission to put student wellbeing first and connect to the surrounding community.
Mirroring the interconnected webs in ecological science, the architectural concept can be illustrated as nested connections: that of student wellbeing to that of the greater community, mental wellness to physical wellness, science to art, and humankind to nature.
Shaped by the winds, views and solar orientation, the site plan, building forms, skins and interiors all reflect these ideas of connection – to their outdoor setting, geographical place and context, as well as the sense of home and community.
Diagram: Shaped by wind, views and solar orientation.
The first building of this mixed-use project was just completed - students moved in in September, 2023. The whole project is set to complete in 2024 and is on track to receive LEED Gold certification.
Project
UC San Diego Theatre District Living & Learning Neighborhood
Location
La Jolla, CA
Client
University of California, San Diego
Year
2024
Status
In Construction
Size
1,500,000 sf
Collaborators
HKS - Executive Architect Kitchell - Contractor SWA Group - Landscape Walter P Moore - Structural Buro Happold - MEP
Photographers
Lawrence Anderson
Awards
2020AIA San Diego Design Awards - Merit
2021AIA Los Angeles Design Awards: Next LA - Merit
