By Lindsey Coulter

West Valley Community College’s Learning Resource Center is in the midst of a significant renovation. The 59,000-square-foot 1970s-era structure located in Saratoga, Calif., was originally built to house the college’s library, digital media center, recording studio and various support programs. However, the facility will soon become a true campus hub thanks to the design ingenuity of Anderson Brulé Architects (ABA) and Mark Cavagnero Associates (MCA) of San Francisco. The team has worked in equal partnership to transform the dark, dated structure into a bright, inspiring anchor for the campus’ northeast side.��

The state-funded project also aims to build a stronger campus culture and sense of cohesion, driven by the shared vision to “Create a beacon for success and growth. A center for academic and professional advancement through collaborative exploration.”������

Construction, completed by general contractor Swinerton with Kitchell serving as project manager, is ongoing, and substantial completion is anticipated by the end of April. The building is expected to open to students by the beginning of the fall 2025 semester.��

Interior Revitalization��

Given the building’s solid structure—which helped it withstand the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake—renovation, rather than new construction, offered a more sustainable and cost-effective solution for the college’s spatial and programmatic needs.��

“The building made for a strong renovation platform; cantilevered columns and no interior braces or shear walls allowed for a lot of flexibility to reconfigure the interior,” said Jason Hull, AIA, LEED AP, associate principal and practice leader with ABA. “The entire structural system and bones of the building were retained and reinforced to make it more seismically safe.”����

Despite its sturdy construction, however, the LRC was not equipped to house modern-day building systems, power infrastructure or technology. The original design also lacked sufficient restrooms, offered little natural light and navigation was often a challenge for users.����

To address these issues, the building will receive upgraded technology and building systems, improved program spaces, and new furniture and finishes, providing a revitalized home for the library, digital media center, TV recording studio, writing center, makerspace, gaming studios, and various program spaces and resource areas. It will also receive two new faculty-centric interactive hubs.��

A New Identity

With all of these different spaces, incorporating more direct wayfinding through interior design was a priority. Orientation was established via an avenue that runs from the new entryway into the library. Key services and resources are mostly located off of the avenue. The major gathering spaces that help to define the building’s interior include the library, success center, cafe and interactive hub, which are surrounded by classrooms and offices. Designers also integrated new meeting and collaboration areas, while retaining as much openness as possible.��

Many of the interior nonstructural walls and related finishes and fixtures will be replaced to support the new organization of the program. Seismically separated additions were designed for adding new programmatic space.��

The building is designed to achieve LEED Silver Certified certification via high-efficiency mechanical and lighting systems, improved envelope energy performance, and use of low -emitting materials and products.��

Furnishings and Functionality��

To create a greater sense of visual cohesion, the design team considered the exterior and interior holistically, selecting furniture and finishes infused with biophilic design principles as a reference to the building’s wooded surroundings. In contrast to the original monochrome palette, a blend of warm and cool palettes balanced with natural tones will differentiate active and quiet spaces while complementing the natural environment.��

“In the main space of the library as well as in the entry court, we have beautiful wood ceilings,” said Ashly Vineyard, NCIDQ, project interior designer with ABA. “We also have linear and horizontal wood that bring a soft natural element, and the patterning in the carpet is inspired by lichen.”����

Additionally, as the building was not designed to house complex modern power data, mechanical, plumbing and electrical infrastructure, the renovation will remove poles that were added to bring power from the ceiling plenum down to the library floor and casework. Instead, the power infrastructure will be integrated into the floor and furnishings.��

Learn more about the visioning process and the focus on the building’s exterior by reading the .����

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HOLLISTER, Calif. — Gavilan College, a community college that serves 8,600 students in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties, has completed Phase I of its new $60 million Hollister Campus that prioritizes accessibility and success for the community. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held last week with stakeholders, state officials and design team members to celebrate the progress. ��

With design-build led by San Jose, Calif.-based Blach Construction and architect partners Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Quattrocchi Kwok Architects and global design firm Gensler, the new 34,000-square-foot community college offers a brightly lit welcome center enhanced by a mural in the lobby that pays homage to the town’s indigenous history. ��

Classrooms, science and computer labs and an expansive community room fill the building, while a food pantry to offset food insecurity, a lactation room and gender-neutral restrooms offer supportive spaces for students. hybrid learning is honored through accessible and modern spaces featuring natural daylighting. ��

“It has been a rewarding and successful experience collaborating with Gavilan College and the project team to design this long-awaited new campus,” said Aaron Jobson, QKA president. “Responding to a new reality where the ways in which we learn vary, the adaptable spaces are complete with advanced technology so that the experience for students both in-person and online is seamless.”��

The design team was highly collaborative and remained on budget while overcoming hurdles such as market fluctuations and heightened material costs. The team also effectively managed potentially lengthy approvals from the Division of the State Architect regarding the project’s intricate roofline design and swiftly adapted to modifications in the campus’ audio-visual system to support advanced hybrid learning environments.��

“This project is a testament to the power of teamwork. The progressive design-build approach allowed us to not only adhere to Gavilan’s budget and expedited timeline but also ensure innovation and quality of construction,” said Brad Fannin, project executive with Blach Construction. “The new Hollister campus is going to have a huge impact on local students, while also serving the community of greater San Benito County.”��

The project, which was primarily funded by county-pass bonds from 2018, is set to open in January 2025 to kick off the college’s spring term. Once the school year begins, the school will bury a time capsule that will contain historical indigenous relics and present-day mementos. Additionally, a new bus route for the City of Hollister will also be added to accommodate the new student body, adding to the campus’ goal of increased accessibility.��

Caption for Featured Image: Gavilan College held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new campus in Hollister, Calif. The project was completed in just over a year and will greatly expand higher education opportunities in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties. Photo credit: Blach Construction

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The 4,575-square foot pool is located in a campus building on Harrison Street and the West Side Highway in lower Manhattan. “We performed extensive aesthetic and infrastructure renovations to the 10,500-square foot facility, including work on the steampipe network and the concrete structural system underneath the pool,” stated Kevin G. Harney, Stalco’s Principal and CFO.

While the pool was taken out of service during construction, the team was working during the school year (as well as over holidays) in an occupied building on a busy college campus within a crowded city. Thus, security of access and construction safety were of the utmost importance. “First, we completely fenced off the entire construction area, making sure students and faculty could not enter the site. The next step was to remove two large 5’x12′ windowpanes from the pool area on the Harrison Street side. With this, we created independent access to the construction area,” said Stalco’s Christopher Caulfield, a superintendent on the project. The Stalco team was careful to ensure that this independent access did not interfere with foot traffic.

In addition to Stalco, the project team included construction manager AECOM; the architect and engineer of record was MP Engineers & Architects; Genesys Engineering P.C. was the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineer; Eldor Contracting Corporation was the electrical contractor; Premier Mechanical Services, Inc. served as mechanical contractor; ARA Plumbing Corporation was the plumbing contractor; Norberto Pools served as the pool contractor; and the waterproofing and tile work subcontractor was Baybrent Tile Corporation.

The scope of work also included building a new staff office, mounting all-new diving platforms, renovating a storage room, and installing two new ADA-compliant S.R. Smith’s handicapped lifts to accommodate swimmers in wheelchairs. The lifts are individually operated with a system of button controls. The team installed a competition-level timing system with touchpads, by Colorado Time.

For the most part, the lighting above the pool remains the same. “We cleaned and, where necessary, repaired the existing fixtures, which are long tubular lights designed for installation over difficult-to-access areas,” said Adele Todisco, Stalco’s assistant project manager. The lighting sources are located on both ends of the long tubes, while a series of mirrors and diffusers in the middle portion of the tube serve to spread the light throughout. Maintenance workers simply access the lighting sources at each end from the walkways around the pool when bulbs need to be changed. However, the team did install a new array of emergency lights.

Headquartered in Islandia, N.Y., with a regional office in New York City, Stalco Construction, Inc. is a full-service general contracting and construction management firm active in the Greater New York area and on Long Island. Building Design & Construction magazine recently ranked Stalco as the 101st largest general contractor and the 59th largest construction manager in the United States.

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The project, scheduled to officially kick off this summer, involves two buildings: Bird Hall, one of the college’s original buildings, and the Nicholas Center.

Upon project finalization, Bird Hall will house the college’s Nursing and EMS/Paramedic programs, allowing faculty and students to share state-of-the-art equipment and take part in cooperative experiences that will mimic real-world interactions. The renovated Bird Hall will also feature three new science labs.

The Nicholas Center revamp includes an expansion, which will nearly double the building’s current size. The 25,503-square-foot addition will be a new workforce center operated by the Community College Workforce Alliance — the workforce development partnership between JTCC and Reynolds Community College.

In addition to classroom spaces, the new workforce center will feature a spacious, flexible lab, which can be configured to suit a wide array of training programs. The renovated Nicholas Center will also boast a large conference room that can be used for workforce training and other functions; new collaborative spaces for Tyler students and the Office of Student Activities; a larger bookstore with a café; and additional general classroom and office space.

“At the heart of Tyler’s Chester Campus renovation project is workforce development,” said Holly Walker, public relations manager for JTCC. “The renovations to Bird Hall, one of our original buildings, and the renovation and expansion of the Nicholas Center will allow us to enhance and expand our programs that prepare students for the in-demand jobs of today and tomorrow and that support the workforce needs of area business and industry.”

The Chester Campus renovation project is expected to cost about $34 million and take about 14 months to complete. The architecture for the renovation is overseen by the national firm Grimm + Parker (G+P), while the construction will be handled by Cleveland-based Donley’s.

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