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UCLA SAXON SUITES COMMONS | Los Angeles, California | 2016

UCLA SAXON SUITES COMMONS | L. A., California | 2016

Architects: Studio E Architects 
Client: UCLA Capital Programs 
General Contractor: Icon West, Inc.
Photographers: Benny Chan, Fotoworks


As part of a refresh effort of aging housing on the UCLA campus, the Architect was charged with rethinking the site of a tired 35 year-old complex and inserting a new Commons to provide needed gathering, socializing and support spaces. The Architect envisioned the Commons as a kind of town hall with the necessary gravity and draw to give the entire complex a heart. The site is characterized by a dense canopy of mature trees that creates a retreat-like atmosphere within an urban campus. The redesign effort was careful to preserve this character while addressing problems with a lack of community, site disconnection to the larger campus, and a concerning lack of emergency vehicle access. To address this, an existing clearing at the center of the site was enhanced with new pedestrian linkages radiating outward. Parking was relocated to the periphery; a gateway was opened up to the larger campus; and an emergency vehicle path was inserted deep into the site. The necessary space for this access path was co-opted as a pedestrian esplanade connecting the heart of the site to the larger campus. The Commons straddles the esplanade and houses a lounge, a multipurpose community room, group study spaces, and offices. Surrounded by outdoor gathering spaces, the Commons emphasizes community by accommodating lingering and chance encounters which are so crucial to student life. The defining characteristic of the building is a deep cantilever into the trees which extends the building more than 30 feet over unsuitable soil. The floating bar of spaces upstairs are introspective (study rooms and offices) while the active and extroverted spaces (lounges, dining, etc.) are placed at grade to be proximate to the comings and goings of residents. These two bars sandwich the necessary mechanical equipment in a deep interstitial floor and ceiling space. The rough materiality of the weathering steel façade, inspired by the natural textures of the site, delicately hovers over the glass and large gathering spaces below, reminiscent of a treehouse or perch. The two main site features, the wooded hillside and the unsuitable soil, were received as challenges and turned into opportunities. 


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American Architecture
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