CLIENT:

San Diego Community College District

LOCATION:

San Diego, California

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Through the strategic master planning process, College leadership determined a central campus hub was needed to help meet its main objective—encourage social engagement and academic commitment of its diverse student population. Located in a suburban neighborhood of San Diego, a new café and bookstore was included as part of the San Diego Community College District Master Plan. The new building is encompassed by contextual plantings, and two new courtyards. One courtyard is dedicated to outdoor dining for the new cafeteria. Another courtyard’s purpose is for students being picked up from a loop road “Kiss and Ride” pull out. This courtyard surrounds a small proposed café and is intended to provide a safe, serene environment for student to wait for a ride, or simply their next class. A rooftop kitchen garden for the second floor culinary program was designed which is completely irrigated with a cistern irrigation system. The remaining gardens are fed by the HVAC condensate water from the facilities cooling systems – a first for community college campuses in San Diego. All irrigation water comes from the site drawing no supplemental water for the city’s domestic water supply.