Antioch University, Santa Barbara

Location Santa Barbara, CA | Completion Date 2012

Awards 2019 AIA Santa Barbara Design Awards Honorable Mention - Commercial Interiors, 2013 ArchitecTours

Publications Los Angeles Times - September 25, 2013, Santa Barbara Independent - March 16, 2012, Santa Barbara News-Press - February 29, 2020

Completed in less than a year, this new urban campus has strengthened the downtown corridor by creating a new educational and cultural hub through the adaptive reuse of a perpetually vacant existing structure. The design reflects the core values of Antioch’s mission for social justice by establishing a campus plan that maximizes openness and transparency while prioritizing environmental stewardship. A new open mezzanine level captures vital square footage and hosts a library, overlooking a gathering area for students below, bathed in natural light. At the first floor, the mezzanine delineates new office spaces for student services that utilize translucent walls covered in colorful, dynamic graphics to admit daylight while providing privacy. Classrooms wrap the perimeter at both the first and mezzanine level, and are accessed from the library via bridges at the mezzanine level. High efficiency mechanical, electrical, and lighting systems greatly reduce the building’s environmental footprint.

Santa Barbara’s temperate climate allowed us to integrate a fresh air economizer system within a featured backlit donor naming wall. The aluminum grill backed with perforated acrylic panels creates a pressurized cavity that supplies cooler outside air from filtered fan units located remotely. Indoor and outdoor air temperature is monitored by a computerized BACnet controller which reduces the need for the building chillers to produce conditioned air. Nearly one third of total HVAC loads are eliminated.