MERCED, Calif.—The new $60 million Arts and Computational Sciences building at UC Merced—spanning 90,000 square feet—was completed last August following a four-year design and construction schedule using the Public Private Partnership delivery model.

The scale of this P3 delivery model sponsors a holistic, systems-thinking approach to campus development rooted in efficiency, innovation, flexibility and sustainability. The P3 development team included a consortium of financial experts, contractors, operations and maintenance teams, architects, engineers, and consultants, with WRNS Studio serving as academic architect. Webcor was the general contractor.

The UC Merced 2020 Project was planned to support the college’s Triple Net Zero Commitment (zero net energy, zero landfill waste, and zero net greenhouse gas emissions),” said Kristen DiStefano, associate director, San Francisco Studio, Atelier Ten, the environmental design consultant firm on this project.

 This commitment was integral to the design approach, putting a fine point on the ways in which a complicated, large-scale P3 can enhance campus life. This project has a goal of offering students an engaging, inclusive campus experience that supports evolving learning modalities with a variety of flexible, mixed-use spaces that blend student life with education.

The entire development is comprised of several buildings, which represents 1.2 million new square feet of construction.

“Live/Learn” became a guiding theme in the planning and design of the Arts and Computational Sciences Building, which includes computational labs, administrative workspaces, dance studios, painting workshops, screening rooms, informal indoor/outdoor spaces, music and sound recording rooms, and a large 299-seat auditorium and lecture hall serving campus-wide events.

 “An integrated design approach connects this varied program, incorporates sustainability goals, and blends living with learning,” explained Lillian Asperin, partner, WRNS Studio.

Added Bryan Shiles, partner, WRNS Studio, “Colloquy spaces distributed throughout the building act as a social glue, encouraging students to gather, socialize, relax and study in a series of informal, comfortable lounges.”

The building also links a new academic quad with future housing and extends a primary circulation path through the existing and new parts of the campus. Angled cast-in-place concrete columns run along the south side of the building, offering students an outdoor, sheltered gathering space and comfortable transition from the quad to the interior. More active programs, including art studios and the lecture hall, are located on the ground floor encouraging interaction between students, faculty and staff.

The auditorium was crafted by local tradespeople using regional wood species. Modular, offsite fabrication helped achieve technical accuracy, as well as cost and schedule efficiencies. Views of both the immediate campus and the open landscape connect students with Merced’s distinct agrarian valleys. Daylight and views reach into all spaces, including the computational labs, achieved through internal glazing and thoughtful space planning. All spaces are flexible for multiple uses—now and into the future.

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MERCED, Calif. — The University of California, Merced recently completed the first phase of its UC Merced 2020 Project, a master-planned campus expansion project at the University of California’s newest campus.

The first three buildings, representing 20 percent of the project, were completed in August 2018 ahead of schedule. They included a 600-seat dining facility, 20 classrooms and 729 new beds of undergraduate student housing. In addition, an NCAA-level soccer field and nearly 1,000 parking spaces were added during the first phase. Ten additional buildings are currently under construction.

When complete in fall 2020, the entire project will have nearly doubled the campus’ physical capacity and will enable enrollment growth to 10,000 students. The four-year project will also nearly double campus size and boost the economy by $1.9 billion in the San Joaquin Valley and $2.4 billion statewide.

“Today we celebrate an investment in the future of UC Merced, the future of the San Joaquin Valley and future of the state of California,” said UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland at the project’s 2016 groundbreaking ceremony. “The Merced 2020 Project brings tremendous economic growth and allows UC Merced to further fulfill its promise to bring interdisciplinary learning and cutting-edge research opportunities to one of our state’s most rapidly growing regions.”

The first of the three buildings that opened in August 2018 was the Pavilion dining hall, a 37,000-square-foot building designed by SOM Architects that seats 600 people and includes three dining rooms and an outdoor terrace that seats 100.

The second building is Glacier Point Student Housing, a164,000-square-foot building designed by Mahlum Architects that will be the tallest building on campus at six stories high. The residential building will include bedrooms with single, double, and triple beds complete with study and social lounges, 10 classrooms, retail space on that ground floor, and three tennis courts located adjacent to the southern courtyard.

The third building is Granite Pass Student Housing, a 100,000-square-foot building designed by Page Architects that will be four stories high and will include bedrooms with single, double, and triple beds, 10 classrooms and student life space, study lounges and social space. The building also includes Little Lake Boardwalk.

The second phase of the project includes two new state-of-the-art buildings with labs, classrooms and additional study areas. The buildings open in fall 2019 and define the edge of a new quadrangle.

By fall 2020, the third phase of the project will be complete, and the campus expansion will have doubled the physical capacity of UC Merced.  It includes expanded student wellness and counseling facilities, additional student housing, a dedicated transit hub for buses, a student enrollment center, and a swimming pool.

The UC Merced 2020 Project has a total construction budget of $1.338 billion with $660 million expended as of August 2018. The project development team of PPM includes Plenary Group as lead developer, equity provider and financial arranger, Webcor Construction LP, as lead contractor, Skidmore Owings & Merrill Inc. as lead campus planner, and Johnson ControlsInc., as lead operations and management firm.

“Plenary Properties Merced is thrilled to be breaking ground on this historic project, which has strong potential to become a model for higher-education design and delivery,” said Dale Bonner, executive chairman of Plenary Concessions. “We look forward to completing this project on time and on budget and continuing our long-term partnership with UC Merced in the years ahead.”

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