Concrete Case Study: University of California, San Diego

Three architects are ensuring that new buildings on the campus of the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) campus continue the legacy of innovative concrete construction. Architect magazine Editor-in-Chief Paul Makovsky discusses prominent examples of concrete architecture on the UCSD campus with Matthew Smith, architect for UC San Diego Capital Program Management. He then explores new concrete projects with the architects who designed them: the East Campus Office Building and Triton Ballpark with Tom Heffernan, AIA, LEED AP, a principal, co-managing director, and licensed architect at Gensler San Diego, and the Spanos Athletic Performance Center with Sean Chen, AIA, a principal at Architects Hanna Gabriel Wells.

The discussion covers the economical, energy-efficient, and durable qualities of tilt-up building sessions. “Could concrete be explored in a way that was evocative of the landscape of San Diego, this kind of duality between a really rustic landscape … and a more refined landscape?” Heffernan asks, remembering the early stages of design when tilt-up was first under consideration. Project walk-throughs and a Q&A paint a picture of how the architects landed on tilt-up and how the buildings have been received by the university community.

Click here to read more and access a link to the video, which was underwritten by the Tilt-Up Concrete Association.