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Intercollegiate Athletic Facility
University of California Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Photography:
Farshid Assassi, Assassi Productions
2006 CMACN Awards Edition, “CMU Profiles in Architecture”
Jury Comments: The concrete masonry provides a strong base and contrast to the fluted glass façade elements, which expertly brings filtered natural light to the interiors. The overall project is a crisp, cool, modern facility that is nicely detailed. The back façade facing the running track is clear and organized. The Z-shaped roof is memorable, but it is not clear whether or not it relates at all to the campus overall.
The new intercollegiate building on the campus of UCSB
consolidates the programmatic and symbolic presence of the
Athletic Department into one building. Comprised of offices
for both administrative staff and coaches, student life
space, and weight and therapeutic training facilities, the
new 44,000 square-foot ICA facility is situated adjacent to
a future pedestrian thoroughfare, connecting the north and
south halves of the campus and creating a symbolic gateway
between athletic and academic facilities. An alley of palm
trees visually strengthens the connection between the ICA
and the existing Robertson Gym, creating a processional
entry to the athletic fields and facilities
beyond.
Organized around a sequence of courtyards and patios in response to Santa Barbara’s regional vernacular and climate, the building acknowledges its adjacency to the Robertson Gym (through scale, color, and materials), while offering a new and dynamic interpretation of the existing architectural lines of the existing gym’s horizontal roof, creating a relationship between old and new that is both respectful and competitive.
Under the sculptural roof, the glazed entrance lobby of the ICA allows visibility between front and back, suggesting a continuity that is not only visual, but also circulatory. Furthering the dialogue between inside and outside, the curving wall of a student assembly space penetrates the glazed front façade and continues into the building, beckoning entry and providing scale to the generous lobby within.
Student life functions, including computer lab, study area, and assembly space are accessible from the ground floor along with the coaches’ offices. The second floor contains offices for both coaches and administration. Weight and therapeutic training facilities are accessed via a second entry located across from lockers in the existing gym. The two buildings are synergistic both in urbanism and in function, as student athletes will use both buildings in concert and enliven the department’s gateway during the course of daily activities.
Architect:
Cannon
Design
1901 Avenue of the Stars,
Suite 175
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Mehrdad
Yazdani
Principal
Structural
Engineer:
John A. Martin & Associates
General
Contractor:
Viola Constructors
Masonry
Contractor:
Gold Coast Masonry, Inc.
Block
Producer:
Air Vol Block, Inc.
Owner:
University of California, Santa Barbara
