10-07-2013 05:00 PM

Physical Sciences + Engineering Center / Ratcliff

© David WakelyArchitects: Ratcliff
Location: Foothill College, El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, CA, USA
Year: 2013
Photographs: David Wakely

Program Manager: Gilbane Building Co.
General Contractor: Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Co.
Structural Engineer: Forell/Elsesser
From the architect. This spring, Foothill College, located in Los Altos Hills, California, in the high-tech heart of California’s Silicon*Valley, unveiled its new Physical Sciences and Engineering Center (PSEC). Designed by Ratcliff, this major*expansion to the historic and architecturally significant Foothill College delivers state-of-the-art facilities in a*three-building complex that graciously marries the campus vernacular architecture with high-tech design*solutions required by today’s learning environments.
Foothill’s PSEC features integrated instructional technology and classrooms, state-of-the-art laboratories and*equipment and signature art installations. The complex incorporates multiple sustainable features designed to*enhance student learning and is on target to achieve LEED® Silver rating. Classrooms were designed with a*focus on flexibility, active learning, smart technology integration and natural daylight.
© David WakelyThe center also houses the Foothill College Science & Learning Institute (SLI), which promotes an innovative*instructional model drawing on educational research and best practices to support successful teaching and*learning of STEM-related content.
“Foothill has the potential to be the CalTech of community colleges, and our new PSEC and the STEM*curricula it supports are a key part of our goal to deliver better educated students into the Silicon Valley*workforce,” said Foothill Physical Sciences, Mathematics & Engineering Division Dean Peter Murray, M.S.*“The Ratcliff team were excellent collaborators with the college, and the results of that collaboration are*evident: The PSEC is more than just another building, it is a locale dedicated to interdisciplinary teaching and*applied learning.”
© David WakelyFifty years ago, Foothill was a blank canvas of rolling hills. Designed by Ernest J. Kump and Masten & Hurd, in*collaboration with landscape architect Peter Walker, the campus was constructed in 1961. The completed*campus won numerous accolades for design excellence. The American Institute of Architects bestowed the*campus its highest honor award in 1962 and an award of merit in 1963. In 1980, the campus received a*special commendation from the AIA for “excellence in design that has stood the test of time.” The new project*is receiving its own share of design awards, including the AIA East Bay’s highest honor award, presented*September 19. (An awards listing follows.)
“With the goal of blending seamlessly with the existing campus, the design aesthetic is deliberately contextual*when viewed from without. Once within the main courtyard, new materials and detailing announce a more*modern architectural expression, reflective of the goal of providing a new STEM facility for 21st century*learners.” said William Blessing, principal architect with Ratcliff.
© David WakelyThe 56,000 square foot PSEC comprises three separate pavilions–Classroom, Laboratory and Commons–*housing Engineering, Chemistry, Physics and Nanotechnology departments. The three buildings together*harmonize and integrate effortlessly with the historic campus.
The design for the classroom and laboratory buildings evolved directly from the distinctive typology of the onestory*pavilions with deep roof overhangs found throughout the original campus. In turn, the new pavilions*reinterpret the existing by incorporating sloped wood shake roofs with articulated roof beams and generous*roof overhangs and introducing a new rain screen system of wood siding, on the perimeter, and Ultra High*Performance Concrete (UHPC) panels, on the courtyard side.
© David WakelyThe Commons building strikes a more modern chord; with a glass and metal shed roof, an expansive*storefront opening to a covered patio, and a terra cotta rain screen, evocative of the brick found on the main*campus. This building has a connectable set of flex spaces – the café, lounge and conference room – along the*west storefront wall facing the courtyard. This highly flexible space can be fully opened to an exterior “room”*under a patterned glass shade roof providing a large social space to support various school and community*functions.
As evidenced in the historic campus, a new 36,400 square foot Science Courtyard is the organizational*element for the new pavilions, the place where Foothill students now congregate casually or attend planned*events. The center also includes a lower plaza anchored by an iconic Corten-steel-sheathed elevator tower*that announces the new campus expansion and creates a direct link across the perimeter Loop Road to the*inner campus.
© David WakelyThe PSEC, which cost approximately $41.6 million, was funded by Measure C, a capital improvement bond*approved in 2006 by voters in the Foothill DeAnza Community College District.
First Floor Plan


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