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University of San Diego Student Life Pavilion

Dining Facilities, LEED Certified, Student Unions, University Centers

San Diego, CA | 2009 | 151,000 sf
LEED Gold Certified

The challenge was rooted in a contradiction: design a state-of-the-art student union in a new 16th century Spanish Renaissance envelope. The USD campus while constructed in the 1950s is unique in that it is entirely based on a historic antecedent. The architects were asked to renovate the Hahn Center (75,000 sf) and add a new compatible 76,000-sf Student Life Pavilion including a grand dining hall, health-food market, student offices, game room and lounges. The solution engages a difficult steep site with a central courtyard that acts as a natural chimney to cool the entire building, which was instrumental in achieving a LEED Gold certificate.