A gateway to campus and community

This project creates a vital new gateway between campus and downtown Chico, linking the historic quad, Kendall Lawn, to the bustling First Street Promenade. A public breezeway connects students with the broader community, while intersecting with a courtyard, or “mixer” around which the program is organized. Envisioned as a “mixer,” the courtyard is where people gather, giving the building its vibe. Classrooms and studios, visible through ample windows facing the courtyard, put learning on display, further activating the space.  

Honoring tradition with a modern bent

As the final piece to complete Kendall Lawn, the Arts and Humanities Building needed to reflect the historic campus context while embracing a modern sensibility that meets the expectations of 21st-century learners. On the quad-facing side, a glassy north wing reveals learning spaces to the quad, seamlessly integrating teaching and the arts into campus life. The breezeway is flanked by a brick and stucco tower and a solid base, which complements the historic Romanesque structures lining Kendall Lawn.

Building a social core off campus

Design captures the energy of a lively campus quad and extends it beyond campus boundaries. The lower forum of the multi-level atrium, activated by the public realm, seamlessly links the city street to the university plaza with dynamic circulation, retail, and informal social spaces, both indoors and out. 

In contrast, the airy upper forum provides a quieter atmosphere suited for focused work and study, with skylights that bathe the terrazzo interior in soft, indirect light. Ample breakout areas across the forums serve as stand-ins for traditional campus quads, compensating for the site’s limited space.

Departmental identity

UC Berkeley emphasized equal representation for its three academic departments, ensuring their distinct identities were thoughtfully woven into the architecture. Connected to the same multi-level atrium, each department expresses its unique character through signage, color, materials, and workplace types. Each department’s unique character and culture is further highlighted by placing collaborative, public spaces—such as meeting rooms, offices, and learning environments—along the atrium, while more private functions are tucked into the building’s perimeter. The vibrant color palette also lends visual playfulness to the atriums.

Balancing efficiency with customization

Berkeley Way introduces a more efficient and thus different—fewer private offices, less square footage per person—way of working and meeting for academics. Careful attention was paid to understanding each department’s culture and needs to help ensure they’d thrive within their new home. For example, Public Health required the ability to draw boundaries around groups writing NIH grants, Psychology favored open and collaborative workspaces, and Education expected private offices with ample windows. 

The departments and workgroups sought distinct identities, varied work styles, diverse workspace needs, and differing levels of privacy and security, presenting a complex planning challenge. Three distinct workplace strategies were studied, each balancing efficiency, territorial clarity, flexibility, and qualitative factors like natural light, views, and acoustic separation. The Market Stalls strategy uses a cellular layout with self-contained suites, offering strong privacy but less efficiency and adaptability. Neighborhoods provides a balanced solution, offering clear territory and flexibility for growth, with work areas that were scaled to foster a sense of community. The Parklands strategy is the most open and flexible, featuring programmatic islands that encourage interaction, with privacy achieved through creative spatial organization rather than physical barriers.