Kresge College Expansion at the University of California, Santa Cruz

Nestled into the topography among towering redwoods, the Kresge College Expansion at the University of California, Santa Cruz reinvigorates the Kresge campus as a vital, experimental environment for education. The project’s four buildings—an Academic Center and three residential halls—weave existing campus architecture into the new design and embrace the site’s natural ecology through their material language and organic, curvilinear forms. 
  
The three-story, 37,000-square-foot Academic Center occupies a ridge between two ravines and negotiates the steep slope by employing a  technique common to polypore fungi, simultaneously stepping down the slope and flaring out, allowing the building to stay in scale with its neighbors on the upper level while maximizing natural daylight and fresh air into the lower floors. Above grade is a one-story, Type IV hybrid structure comprising glulam beams and columns, CLT floor and ceiling panels, and light-frame wood walls. The mass timber, left exposed where possible, visually complements the cost-effective light-frame construction to accommodate the building’s curved geometry. The two-story below-grade portion is concrete. Inside, classrooms and a 600-seat lecture hall feature curved glulam beams, exposed mass timber, and expansive windows that create dramatic spaces flooded with natural light. 
  
The six-story residential buildings added 88,000 square feet and 400 student beds to campus. All three were strategically sited to minimize resource use and impact on the site’s ecology. By bending around existing redwoods, the buildings maximize shade, lessening cooling loads, and reduce the number of trees that had to be removed during construction. Each was built using a four-story, Type III-A hybrid system of glulam columns and beams, CLT floor and ceiling panels, and light-frame wood walls over a two-story concrete podium. The contractor utilized shop-built stud wall assemblies to accelerate construction. 
  
California’s high seismic demands required special detailing of the lateral systems. At the time, building codes had yet to recognize the use of CLT for horizontal diaphragms and seismic lateral loading, so the design team used an alternative means of compliance method for approval. The light-frame wood shear walls include a proprietary continuous tie-down system for uplift resistance and the walls, segmented to facilitate the curved geometry of the buildings, were installed with special seismic straps. 
  
The hybrid light-frame/mass timber approach helped Kresge College meet many of their environmental goals. The use of wood cladding contributed to a high-performance envelope, which supported reducing the size of the academic and residential buildings’ mechanical systems. Heat recovery and night cooling systems in the Academic Center eliminated the need for air conditioning while enabling a ventilation system that operates during wildfires or other air pollution events. The team also rehabilitated a historic runnel system to more effectively direct, capture, and filter stormwater for reuse. 
  
Exposed wood, chosen for its visual aesthetics, biophilic qualities, and sustainability, allowed this campus expansion to form a natural, material connection with its forest location.