New Housing at UC San Diego
Showcases Latest in Green Innovation

August 8th, 2011

By Christine Clark

Revelle's Charles David Keeling apartments are projected to be Leadership in Energy Efficient Design (LEED) platinum certified, a first for any structure on campus.

New housing at the University of California, San Diego has students seeing green. Newly completed apartments at Revelle and John Muir College, two of UC San Diego’s six undergraduate colleges, and the second phase of the transfer housing complex, the Village, are opening their doors this fall. Revelle’s Charles David Keeling apartments are projected to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certified, a first for any structure on campus.

The Keeling apartments’ sustainable features pay homage to their namesake, the first scientist to record the rise of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. The energy-efficient apartments house 510 beds and feature solar panels that allow residents to bathe with water heated by sunlight instead of gas or electricity, and control heat  through  shading and through naturally assisted kitchen and bathroom exhausts.

All of UC San Diego’s new housing features drought-tolerant landscape, natural ventilation, solar panels and recyclable building materials, helping the new buildings earn LEED gold certification or higher. The projects are consistent with UC San Diego’s long-range goal of housing 50 percent of all of its students. No State of California money was used in the projects.

The Keeling apartments' sustainable features pay homage to their namesake, the discoverer of the Keeling Curve––the first recording of the rise of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere.

The new apartments at Muir College consist of two towers housing 275 beds. Muir College is regarded as an exceptionally intact example of the modern architectural movement in the ‘60s in San Diego. The original designers, Robert Mosher and Dale Naegle, were highly regarded architects of their time. The new housing will enable all second-year Muir College students to live on campus and enhance their opportunity to participate in the academic and extracurricular life of the Muir College community. With the completion of the Muir and Revelle projects, UC San Diego is able to offer a three-year guarantee of on-campus housing to this year’s incoming freshmen; only one other UC campus is able to extend this offer.

Members of UC San Diego’s incoming transfer class not only have a world-class educational experience to look forward to, but they also will get to experience the campus’s programs and initiatives designed to provide a community for these students, including the newly completed housing community for transfers, the Village.

The Village neighborhood, in the works for five years, consists of Village West and Village East, a total of 13 buildings, two of which are 15-story high rises with incredible ocean views. The first phase, the Village at Torrey Pines West, featuring 1,000 beds, was finished in May 2009 and officially opened January 2010. The second phase of the Village transfer housing complex, featuring 805 new beds in apartment-style living, was completed spring 2011.

Also opening its doors within the Village is The Bistro, a new restaurant that will feature table service, dining by reservation, a sushi bar, outdoor seating, convenient online to-go orders and specialty Asian themed products. Adjacent to the eatery is a new market with one of the widest varieties of products on the campus.

With the completion of the Muir and Revelle projects, UC San Diego is able to offer a three year guarantee of on-campus housing to this year's incoming freshmen, only one other UC campus is able to extend this offer.

Similar to freshmen and sophomores, transfer students at the Village have access to Resident Advisors (RAs). A great resource for students, RAs organize a variety of events for students to expand and enhance educational and social experiences while providing exposure to diverse ideas and viewpoints of fellow students.

“The Village is more than just a housing complex,” said Mark Cunningham, executive director of Housing and Dining Services. “The Village is a community apartment complex where residents can dine, socialize, shop and live in a space specifically designed for transfers.”

Cunningham said with the completion of this second phase, his department is now able to provide a guarantee of two years of on-campus housing to all incoming transfer students. “From the first day of move-in, students and their parents have raved about the apartments and their sustainable furnishings as well as the many architectural features of the project. And, of course, the breath-taking views from the 15th floor,” said Cunningham. “From the convenient mail services, market, meeting rooms and gathering spaces to drought tolerant bio-swale landscaping, this development is hard to beat for on-campus living.”

Media Contact: Christine Clark, 858-534-7618, or ceclark@ucsd.edu