Students at UC Santa Barbara will begin enjoying access to the school’s newest learning facility as C.W. Driver Companies, a leading builder serving California since 1919, today announced the completion of the much anticipated 4-story Interactive Learning Pavilion at the school’s core.
The 95,000 square-foot structure provides approximately 2,000 seats of classroom space, which includes five lecture halls, three classroom spaces for project-based learning, and 20 flexible discussion rooms. Each of the 32 classrooms and lecture halls is designed to seat between 30 and 350 students. The project also provides 1,700 new bicycle parking spaces to facilitate the widespread bike culture of the university. It’s estimated that approximately 14,000 U.C.S.B students and staff commute daily by bicycle when school is in session.
Construction of this large a scale requires extensive planning and management on behalf of C.W. Driver Cos.
“The project is located in the middle of campus and required an early re-route of bicycle and pedestrian lanes, as well as planning for just-in-time deliveries in the early morning to keep clear of student traffic,” said Jeff Bara, Senior Project Manager at C.W. Driver Cos. “We worked closely with the university to develop off-site staging where delivery vehicles could enter the campus individually, therefore limiting the number of trucks on campus at any given time and minimizing the impact of construction on the community.”
Breezing through the middle of the pavilion is an open-air ‘street’ space that serves as a corridor between the two major buildings. Exposed stairs and terraces receive sun and daylight throughout the day. Upper levels provide views of the campus, including Pardall Mall to the west, Library Mall to the north, and the ocean to the south. Also reflective of the university’s character is the facility’s designation of LEED® Gold Certification. It will be powered exclusively by electricity with no natural gas usage.
C.W. Driver Cos. is known for its commitment to processes, outlined in their Environmental Health & Safety Program, which contribute to the overall safety of teams, subcontractors and site visitors. The construction team working on this new facility went above-and-beyond, receiving the Liberty Mutual Insurance Safety Commendation Gold Award from the University Controlled Insurance Program (UCIP) for their outstanding performance in safety.
C.W. Driver Companies collaborated with LMN Architects on the project. Other notable higher education projects by C.W. Driver Companies include the Pomona-Pitzer College Rains Athletic Center; CSU Dominguez Hill’s Science and Innovation Building; CSU San Bernardino Coyote Village and Coyote Commons; MiraCosta College Chemistry & Biotechnology Building; Orange Coast College’s Language Arts and Social Science Building, Kinesiology and Athletics Complex and Student Union Complex; Mesa College’s Fine Arts Building; Chapman University’s Keck Center for Science and Engineering; Cal Poly Pomona’s Student Services Building; and Vanguard University’s Waugh Student Center.
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