UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center | Award-Winning Design

UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center

The winning entry in a Design-Build competition, this 55,000 square foot Contemporary Arts Center is finely attuned to its Southern California climate and community context. The high-performance, LEED Platinum certified project, incorporates innovative strategies for energy-efficiency that become bold design ideas. Inserted into an existing urban arts campus, the five-story structure includes a large experimental black box theater and an art gallery, both double-height spaces, surrounded by multiple studios, classrooms and offices.

UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center

Reinforcing the interdisciplinary approach of the School of the Arts, the architecture stimulates interaction with the surrounding Arts Village with multiple terraces, landscaped courtyards, balconies and a colonnade. A new entrance court plaza has been planted with shade trees and fitted with wooden benches and integrated lighting to make it an inviting public gathering space.

UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center

This building speaks about connection”

World Architecture News

UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center
UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center

Located four miles from the ocean, the complex’s benign marine climate contributed to the main design idea. The theater and gallery, the two large spaces requiring highly-mediated environmental control and lighting, are placed at the core of the building. Wrapped around them are smaller, naturally-ventilated rooms and corridors that make up most of the building exterior.

UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center

The top floor consists entirely of artists' studios that are also naturally ventilated. These studios open onto outdoor terraces that double as extended work areas.

UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center/div>
UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center
UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center
UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center
UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center

A TRUE WIN FOR ALL INVOLVED.”

Francesco Porcella, Senior Project Manager, Design and Construction Services, University of California, Irvine

UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center
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Project
  • UC Irvine Contemporary Arts Center
Location
  • Irvine, CA
Client
  • University of California, Irvine
Year
  • 2010
Status
  • Complete
Size
  • 55,000 sf
Collaborators
  • Ledcor Group - Contractor
    John A. Martin and Associates, Inc. - Structural
    M-E Engineers Inc. - MEP
    LRM Landscape Architecture - Landscape
    KPFF Consulting Engineers Inc. - Civil
Photographers
  • Lawrence Anderson
Awards
  • 2015 AIA Orange County - Citation
  • 2014 AIA|California Council - Merit Award
    American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Honor Award
  • 2013 National DBIA Design-Build Award – Honor Award
    National DBIA Design-Build Excellence in Design Award
  • 2012 DBIA – Western Pacific Region Design-Build Award
Publications
  • 2016 World Architecture News
  • 2014 Interior Design