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The North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood at UCSD
“Reimagining How Our Students Live, Learn and Play”
We are excited to share that the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood (NTPLLN) at UCSD is fully operational. This bkm OfficeWorks project—and the largest campus project to date—was completed in collaboration with creative partners Clark Construction and architects HKS and Safdie Rabines.
The NTPLLN was prompted by student population growth at the University of California San Diego—with an estimated 40,000 students attending in the coming years. As a result, several construction projects are in the works at UCSD, all focused heavily on sustainability and minimal environmental impact. We are excited to share more of the details that shaped the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood into one of our most ambitious and successful projects, the result of longtime collaboration (20+ years) between bkm and the premier hometown university.
Students were first welcomed into the new residential buildings at the NTPLLN last Fall. Today all seven buildings, including dining, retail, administrative, and educational spaces are all open for business. “We helped to essentially build a city on campus,” says bkm Vice President of Sales Bryan Justus. “Each of these seven buildings is unique and beautifully made and comes with its own personality and characteristics.” Says bkm Account Manager Julianna Pollack: “We focused on the need for this community to collaborate together and what that should look like. That was the overall vision. It was for the students, faculty, and staff.”
Step Inside the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood
The NTPLLN is comprised of 7 primary buildings, all intended to create comfortable and innovative work/living spaces for students and their teachers with lots of natural lighting and stunning art. “UCSD leaders used this project to try and get people to engage and collaborate and connect more right on campus, and I think a lot of the buildings we helped to design and the furniture we provided enables those behaviors,” says Justus.
The Craft Center: The new UCSD Craft Center offers courses in ceramics, jewelry, woodworking, textiles, mixed media, surfboard shaping, and the culinary arts.
HDH Dining & Sixth Market: It includes five restaurants: Makai for poké bowls, Noodles for Asian noodle-, grain- and dumpling-based soups, Crave for plant-forward entrees, Wolftown for Mexican street food, and The Rooftop grill and smokehouse. HDH also houses Sixth Market, “featuring groceries, fresh produce, snacks, grab and go meals, health and beauty options, as well as a full coffee and espresso bar,” according to the website. Sixth Market is the largest market on campus to date. More restaurants will open later this year.
Sixth College: The core curriculum at Sixth College focuses on culture, art, and technology. Both classrooms and administrative offices are housed here. In total bkm helped to design and provide office furniture for 470 private and 100 shared offices in these quintessential San Diego buildings.
Social Sciences: Departments located in the Social Sciences building include Education Studies, Urban Studies and Planning, the Black Studies Project, and the Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research. Educational equity research and outreach center CREATE is also here, as is the Climate Action Lab.
Arts and Humanities: The Philosophy and History and Literature departments can be found here, along with the Institute of Arts and Humanities and the Analytical Writing Program.
Residential: More than 2,000 undergraduate dorms are located throughout four residential halls: Catalyst, Kaleidoscope, Tapestry, and Mosaic.
Scholars Parking Structure: A, B, SR and V parking permits are welcomed here along with spaces for visitors and campus affiliates. Innovative parking sensors provide real-time options for drivers.
UCSD Commercial Design Blending the Exterior and Interior
Throughout the project bkm worked to harness optimal collaborative workspace design with national manufacturing partners including Steelcase. “We worked with Steelcase and several other vendors to provide both bespoke and custom furniture for indoor and outdoor spaces in the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood,” says bkm Account Manager Julianna Pollack. “My favorite pieces were the custom tables created for the HDH dining building, where we placed outdoor furniture inside to draw in those stunning ocean views.
“I think it really captured the site. The views are incredible,” says Justus. “There’s a strong California design feel—light woods, tall ceilings, tons of natural light and that blended indoor/outdoor aesthetic.” Growth and expansion continues at UCSD to meet increasing population goals.
Interested in learning more? Read our NTPLLN case study and to get additional information about custom installations and project management services offered by bkm OfficeWorks, click here.