By Daily Press staff
A local architecture firm has been selected by Santa Monica College to design a new $30 million student services and administration building, it was announced last week.
The new building, which will be located on the college’s main campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., will be used to provide a “one-stop service location to more effectively serve the approximately 35,000 students,” according to college officials. Conceived as a three-story building with underground parking, the new 86,000-square-foot facility will consolidate student services, administration, business services and information technology, which are all currently located at various sites on and off the main campus.
The firm, Widom Wein Cohen O’Leary Terasawa, (WWCOT) will assist SMC in the planning process and program development of the new building. The WWCOT team will provide design, cost-estimating and construction administration, and act as consultant on civil, structural, telecommunications, security, interiors, signage and parking, and vehicular circulation issues.
SMC officials have asked WWCOT to create a high-performance sustainable building, with particular attention given to the effective use of natural lighting and ventilation that can be certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System® (LEED). The system emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality, officials said.
Recognized as one of the fastest-growing architectural firms in the nation, Santa Monica-based WWCOT is a more than 100-person firm with offices in the Inland Empire, Moorpark, Palm Springs, and Shanghai, China. The firm was established in 1964. As a full-service architecture firm, WWCOT provides programming, plan-ning, architectural and interior design, architectural forensics, and construction support services for a wide range of healthcare, governmental, educational, senior living, multi-family residential and corporate clients. Learn where California stands with Hispanic population
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 16, 2004. Read the original PDF.