Project Name: 013 "University of La Verne Arts and Communication Center"

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Project Description

Credits

The new 26,000 square-feet Art and Communications Center for the University of La Verne is an adaptive reuse of an historic citrus packing warehouse. The design carefully responds to a challenging set of goals: energy-efficiency, historic sensibility, and complex programming requirements.

Project Goals

The University of La Verne challenged the design team to relocate their Art and Communications Departments into a citrus packing warehouse located along a newly implemented, highly visible pedestrian corridor on their main La Verne campus. Due to its place in history along an important railroad corridor, the City of La Verne strictly limited any major alterations to the exterior of the Center, so all building functions had to carefully fit into the two existing levels. The Art Department required an open, evenly lit studio space, while the Communications departments required acoustically treated TV and Radio Studios. The final design skillfully harnessed the building’s intrinsic characteristics to fulfill the diverse functions. In addition, the project team successfully addressed the University’s mandate for an energy efficient facility.

Design

The Art Department was located on the existing upper level. Offices, classrooms and workshops occupy three sides of the perimeter, placing the art studio in the center’s uninterrupted open space under the even light of the north-facing clerestory windows. An angled atrium gallery cut out from the upper level makes way for a new mezzanine level, the circulation hub with central stairways and an elevator tower. The dramatic, two-story gallery has an uninterrupted two and one half story "tall wall" for displaying art, the only such gallery space in the surrounding communities and well appreciated by large format artists. The mezzanine is the main entrance from the pedestrian street. An energy-efficient storefront facade fills the existing cargo bays. The center bay was enlarged to become the main entrance.
The main staircase leads to the gallery floor and lower level that houses a complex suite of offices for the Communications Department, including a Radio Station, edit booths, local cable-access TV office, classrooms, bathrooms, and mechanical rooms. Special acoustical measures were designed into the Radio Station, and natural daylight was optimized through glass block perimeter windows and the central gallery space.
The overall design of the Center accentuates the industrial heritage of the building. Where possible, ductwork, piping, steel framing, and exterior concrete walls have been left exposed. The original metal trusses have been inconspicuously reinforced. The original bays, ramps and the Public Art Mural along the railroad tracks have all been retained. The cargo bays now act as picture windows from the pedestrian street to the art exhibited inside. Even the bike racks and bollards whimsically point toward the lively scene inside. When lit up at night, the Center becomes a beacon along La Verne’s main shopping street.

Energy Savings by Design

The design team succeeded in significantly reducing the energy consumption of this historic structure. The team effort, participating in Southern California Edison’s Savings by Design Program, resulted in a Center with a 14% improvement over Title 24, even with the high energy consuming elements of TV and Radio Studios. Day lighting in the upstairs classrooms and auditorium is controlled with automatic room darkening shades for multi-media presentations. A sophisticated light monitoring system controls electric lighting in public areas. To retain the industrial aesthetic, the roof was insulated on the exterior, and energy conserving insulated translucent panels replaced single pane wire glass clerestory windows. Displacement heating and cooling in the open studio space effectively heats/cools the occupants, not the volume of the saw tooth truss. Night air cycling brings in refreshing cool evening air into the facility. The design successfully produces energy savings while reinforcing the historical industrial aesthetic.