At the ULI Spring Meeting in San Diego this year, attendees will have the opportunity to tour the University of California, San Diego, (UCSD) campus in La Jolla and witness recently completed and under-construction buildings that integrate living and learning, foster collaboration and entrepreneurship among students, and appeal to members of the wider community.
The changes on campus benefit from the new Mid-Coast Trolley extension route, which opened in November 2021 and has greatly expanded UCSD’s public transit connections to the rest of the city. It also enables students living farther out to get to campus more quickly and easily than before. “A lot of our students think it’s a total game-changer,” says Jeff Graham, executive director of real estate for the university. “Places that were an hour and a half away by bus are now within a 25-minute trolley ride.”
Located right next to the new Pepper Canyon Light Rail Transit Station, the Design and Innovation Building (DIB) opened in December 2021. Designed by EHDD of San Francisco, the 74,000-square-foot (6,900 sq m) multidisciplinary entrepreneurial hub supports students in taking products from idea to fabrication and commercialization. “What’s innovative about the building is that it will have spaces for private industry and venture capitalists to interact with students and advance their research into marketable products,” says Graham. Outside the DIB, a new 2,850-seat amphitheater, designed by Safdie Rabines, is completing construction; ultimately, it will be home to a variety of concerts and events.
Two mixed-use residential complexes are on the tour as well, part of UCSD’s ambition to expand on-campus housing and weave in academic and retail facilities. Designed by local firm Safdie Rabines Architects and Dallas-based HKS Architects, the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood opened to students in the fall of 2020.
“In the past, the university has done what a lot of universities do, which is build a standalone research building, a standalone student housing building, and a standalone academic lecture hall,” Graham says. “This combines everything into a mixed-use building with two levels of below-grade parking.” The complex includes 2,000 beds for students, lecture halls and classrooms, faculty offices, dining options, and shops, as well as extensive outdoor areas, plazas, and paths for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Currently under construction is the Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood, which will incorporate five buildings and include 2,000 beds for undergraduate students, residential life and administration offices, classrooms, meeting space, shops, a full-service restaurant, and two levels of underground parking. Placed atop a cliff, the complex is next to the La Jolla Playhouse, a noted not-for-profit professional theater that works closely with UCSD’s theater and dance department. “A lot of the dining options in the Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood will serve not only the campus, but also patrons of the La Jolla Playhouse and members of the community,” says Graham. “We’re hoping that they’ll come to campus and enjoy a meal and maybe a performance, or just walk around and enjoy the university’s beautiful public art collection. We’re all about finding reasons for the community to come and explore the campus and spend some time here.”
Learn more about tours and other programs at the 2022 ULI Spring Meeting.
RON NYREN is a freelance architecture and urban design writer based in the San Francisco Bay area.
