West Valley College, Visual Arts Building | Saratoga, California, USA | 2023

Architects: Mark Cavagnero Associates with TLCD Architecture
Design Team: Mark Cavagnero, John Fung, Ellen Leuenberger, Olga Luebker, and Simon Newton 
General Contractor: N/A, multi-prime delivery
Construction Manager: Gilbane Building Company
Client: West Valley-Mission Community College District
Photographers: Henrik Kam Photography

The Visual Arts Building at West Valley College’s Cilker School of Art and Design transforms a quiet quadrant of the wooded campus into a vibrant hub for art students and the greater college community. Situated directly across from an existing performing arts center, the two buildings form a new gateway into the school. Nestled among oaks and redwoods, the 20,000 square-foot building promotes interaction between the studio activities inside and the natural surroundings. The design maximizes transparency and openness throughout the facility by featuring generously glazed openings and exterior circulation shaded by louvred canopies.

The new Visual Arts Building replaces an existing arts complex that was originally built in the 1970’s. The former art spaces had numerous functional challenges and lacked meaningful connection to the outdoors. The project not only remedies these deficiencies but consolidates the existing fine arts program to bring painting/drawing and digital media together with ceramics and sculpture into one open and accessible facility. The exterior plaza encourages cross-pollination of disciplines and stimulates creative exchange among students.

The integrated layout of the metal/woodworking shop and kiln/foundry area is an extension of the ceramics and sculpture studios that further enhance the studio curriculum. Flexible, transparent, and universally accessible studio spaces that are both spacious and well-lit help transform arts instruction and showcases the comprehensive visual arts program, complete with an industrial-grade ventilation system to support the ceramics, paint, wood and metal working environments of the building. Five daylit art studios wrap around the courtyard, anchored and connected by a heritage oak tree. Each studio has direct access to covered outdoor spaces, and the proximity of the studios promotes collaborative and interdisciplinary practice of the arts, encouraging full use of the outdoor space.