June 28, 1999Media Contact: Pat JaCoby (858) 534-7494
Supporting Images: ERCPlan1 (219K), ERCPlan2 (180K), ERCPlan3 (199K), ERCplanmap (152K)
UCSD's LARGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECT GETS BOARD OF REGENTS GREEN LIGHT
The largest construction project in
University of California, San Diego history, both in funding and footage, has been
approved by the University of California Board of Regents. Construction of Eleanor
Roosevelt College, UCSD’s fifth and newest undergraduate college, will begin in
November, 2000; completion is expected in August, 2002.
The internationally-famed architectural firm of Moshe Safdie & Associates of
Boston, Mass., is executive designer of the $83 million project, located on 12 acres
adjacent to North Torrey Pines Road.
The Eleanor Roosevelt College Housing and Dining Facilities project--which also
includes an International House--will provide 373,033 assignable square feet of new
construction. The college will be comprised of 460 beds in residence halls, 520 beds in
apartments, dining facilities to seat 300 people, a meeting room seating 400, ancillary
services, and common areas for administrative functions of the housing complex.
The residential buildings are generally four stories in height, while the dining and
conference facilities and International House event space are two stories high. The
project is organized around a series of pedestrian streets and gardens which offer a wide
variety of outdoor spaces ranging from quiet gardens to busy plazas. The central element
is a large "green" which will provide an outdoor space accommodating large
groups, outdoor activities, and informal seating. The buildings are light sand color
stucco.
While the project will eliminate one surface parking lot, a new five and one-half level
parking structure to provide approximately 970 vehicle spaces will be built adjacent to
the southern edge of the new college. Construction of the new parking structure will start
in August, 1999 and completion is expected in the fall of 2000.
Moshe Safdie first established his architectural practice in 1964 in Montreal to design
and supervise construction of Habitat ’67. Today the principal office is in Boston,
with branch offices in Jerusalem and Toronto.
Major projects recently completed by the award-winning firm include the Marmilla (cq.)
Hilton Hotel in Jerusalem; the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles; Vancouver Library
Square and Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Vancouver, B.C.: Ottawa City Hall, Ottawa,
Ontario; the Harvard Business School’s Morgan Hall, Cambridge, Mass.; the Museum of
Fine Arts, Montreal, Quebec, and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
The firm’s wide range is evident in current projects including the Exploration
Place Science Center and Children’s Museum in Wichita, Ka., the Ben Gurion 2000
Airside Terminal in Tel Aviv, and the AT&T Centre for the Performing Arts and Pantages
Place Tower, Toronto, Ontario.
Of his design philosophy Safdie notes, "We have designed buildings in places as
diverse in geography and culture as Ottawa and Los Angeles, Mexico and Singapore. Always
balancing our broad spectrum of experience with our commitment to develop vital forms, we
seek a close connection and reciprocity between a building and its setting and an
architectural language infused with the essence of the cultural context. For every
project, an appreciation of the site and region’s landscape, climate and heritage has
deepened and enriched our design and construction process. A central goal of our work is
to create unique spaces and forms that introduce a sense of ceremony appropriate to each
particular project."
