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In partnership with the Smith Group, CLA is in the process fo developing a schematic design for the newest academic building on the UC Merced campus, the Science and Engineering 2 facility. Located at the edge of the north campus and overlooking a canal and future “South Bowl” open space, the S+E2 building will be a prominent architectural feature of the university.
Adjacent to a small café, CLA’s design establishes and overlook at the terminus of the localized axis of circulation, highlighting views of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Seat walls extend from the lines of the building into the landscape as it slopes away towards the canal. With glass “garage doors” at the building edge, a semi-enclosed colonnade providing building circulation, and the small rooms established by the seat wall, the line between indoor and outdoor space is blurred. The result is a dynamic and fluid space that accommodates both large flows of traffic as well as smaller gatherings. The design provides opportunities for the acitivity of the building to spill into the landscape such that the user can enjoy the great energy generated by the intersection of students and faculty and the overlap of academic and recreational terrain. These informal gathering spaces help support the campus vision of a continuous exchange of ideas and collaboration between academic disciplines.
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