Green Good Design Awards Tell a friend
ARCHIVE 2021
Green Architecture
Los Angeles, California, USA
Architects: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Client: University of California, Los Angeles
Photographers: Paul Turang
This 2020 addition to a 1995 business-school complex creates a bold and highly sustainable presence that reimagines the traditional brick and buff masonry banding of the larger campus.
Sited atop an existing parking structure edged by a steeply sloping street, the building transforms a condition long considered an unsightly barrier between school and campus, framing a new pedestrian plaza and cascading grand stair to the south. The result is a new primary entrance to the school that also serves as a dramatic campus gateway.
The architect made efficient use of the decades-old garage, improving its functionality and appearance and achieving project goals without compromising views from the existing complex or disturbing desirable features of the site. On the north side, a second entry and landscaped vehicular arrival plaza are accessible from the garage's top deck, further enhancing the school's connectivity.
At the new building's lowest level, an east-facing passage provides public access from the garage to the new south plaza and curvilinear grand stair, celebrating the school's renewed identity and integration with the campus beyond.
Inside the 62,800-square-foot building, state-of-the-art, acoustically optimized spaces are designed to support evolving models of business education. In addition to offices and classrooms, the facility includes a double-height event space and shaded terrace overlooking the plaza, with a dynamic indoor-outdoor environment at the lowest public level.
High-performance low-E glazing and green roofs that mediate between the new and existing structures are among the many sustainable features behind the building's LEED Platinum rating. Efficient systems include displacement ventilation of high-volume classrooms, extensive daylighting, and operable windows in offices linked to the HVAC system for mixed-mode operation. The building makes use of the university's cogeneration technology by connecting to the campus chilled water system; a local condensing boiler system significantly reduces atmospheric emissions.
The facade design, developed through extensive energy modeling, yields a reduction of solar heat gain by as much as 50 percent and optimized overall performance. On the south facade and other areas with extensive glazing, a large overhang, as well as exterior louvers and other shading devices, greatly reduce solar heat gain, as do insulated wall assemblies. The diverse shading solutions animate the glazed facade, both veiling and framing the terrace and event space within while emphasizing the building's civic presence and welcoming demeanor.
A mix of daylit spaces and varied spatial configurations and furnishings enhance well-being inside and outside the building, fostering a connection to the natural world in a sustainable, healthful way. A folding wall connects indoor and outdoor seating areas at the plaza level, anchored by a fireplace and creating a welcoming patio, while a grand upper balcony extends the main event space outdoors. Green roofs on the north side offer bench-lined planters; smaller planters on the lower roof at the western edge give offices in the existing complex a landscaped view of the south plaza.
The glazed five-story atrium at the heart of the facility exemplifies its environmental qualities, offering excellent sound absorption without compromising visual transparency. Housing a rich array of interactive social and learning spaces and bringing abundant natural light to the interior, the atrium's engaging stepped profile reflects the energy and forward-thinking spirit of the community the building serves.
