UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Campus

Shared facility fosters collaboration between students and professionals

Located at the heart of one of the most innovative markets in the country, the UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Campus is a multidisciplinary teaching and research hub shared by both design students and industry professionals. The 90,000-square-foot facility offers a cutting-edge campus ambiance that blends the university with the tech community’s high-energy, fast-paced culture.

LPA’s integrated team worked to identify synergies shared by both design students and professionals. That study led the team to an emphasis on flexibility, branding and technology, recognizing that the campus offers post-secondary degrees in technology and digital gaming.

The fast-paced schedule required a high-level of collaboration between the client, university and contractor. Besides classrooms and administrative offices, the program consisted of open and enclosed collaborative spaces, break rooms, video studios and utility spaces.

The first-floor lobby features a photographic, vinyl installation that vividly represents the connections between the university and Silicon Valley. Flexibility is the key to the spaces, which feature movable furniture, glass walls and writeable surfaces. The different programming requirements come together to share resources, including a welcoming lobby space, a large event room, public meeting rooms and informal seating areas.

State-of-the-art technology is included through the facility, including a top-of-the-line recording studio used to record online courses. The studio includes green screens for video recording and a digital glass board. The facility also includes an on-campus game room and gaming lab spaces to support the digital gaming curriculum.