Claremont University Consortium Administrative Campus Center

Can you describe your design process for the building?

We believe it is necessary to invert the value of constraints by recasting the seeming limitations of a project as the very trigger for design invention. By maneuvering imaginatively within operational boundaries, the latent potentials of the project can be teased out of the very restrictions that would seem to weigh it down. Carefully balancing pragmatism and creativity, we sought the most compelling solution that creates architectural quality by directly engaging the parameters of cost, function, site and environmental performance.

How does the completed building compare to the project as designed? Were there any dramatic changes between the two and/or lessons learned during construction?

For the most part the built-reality is consistent with the design intent.  One major change during construction (made at the client’s request) was a significant increase to the size of the tensile fabric shade canopy on the South side of the building in order to better accommodate large-scale community events.  This entailed a fairly extensive redesign during construction but ultimately benefitted the project as it greatly increased the amount of usable exterior space and allows the CUC to provide a home for various community-oriented functions.  The project was intended to be a bridge between “town” and “gown” and the change allows the CUC to offer the surrounding communities a much needed large-scale gathering space. 

How does the building compare to other projects in your office, be it the same or other building types?

LTL has engaged in multiple adaptive reuse projects for various institutional clients in recent years, including Arthouse at the Jones Center in Austin, Texas, and the Sullivan Family Student Center in Laramie, Wyoming.  The decision to reuse an existing structure is most often driven by economic necessity but there is an increasing awareness the part institutional clients that adaptive reuse is often also the most environmentally sustainable option.  The tension between the specificity of the original building and the exigencies of a new program is a productive one-- an opportunity for architectural invention.

How does the building relate to contemporary architectural trends, be it sustainability, technology, etc.?

While a major aspect of the project’s sustainability strategy is to retain and reuse the existing prefabricated steel shed, its current utilitarian exterior is neither inviting nor appropriate for the new use. To redefine the building’s character, a continuous cedar surface wraps portions of its north, east, and south elevations. The ribbon works with the original pitch-roofed geometry of the building, but slips free of its shell to produce a clearly defined entry point along with a series of outdoor gathering spaces. Moving from exterior to interior, the cedar screen defines the major public circulation and shared facilities. Illuminated at night with embedded LED lights, the cedar ribbon serves as both a wayfinding device—denoting the building’s entry to vehicular and pedestrian traffic—and as a recognizable image for CUC.

Email interview conducted by John Hill.