The textured and patterned site-cast tilt-up concrete walls of the East Campus Office Building at the University of California San Diego appear almost as an extension of the canyon geology. Tilt-up construction allowed campus workers to move into the building less than a year after construction began.
The textured and patterned site-cast tilt-up concrete walls of the East Campus Office Building at the University of California San Diego appear almost as an extension of the canyon geology. Tilt-up construction allowed campus workers to move into the building less than a year after construction began.

Iconic concrete buildings, including the Geisel Library and the Salk Institute nearby, have helped create a distinctive architectural identity for the University of California San Diego. Newer buildings on campus, such as the East Campus Office Building, the Triton Ballpark, and the Spanos Athletic Performance Center, are extending that architectural legacy—using the tilt-up method of construction.

In this Studio Session, ARCHITECT Editor-in-Chief Paul Makovsky discusses prominent examples of concrete architecture on the UCSD campus with Matthew Smith, architect for UC San Diego Capital Program Management. He then explores new concrete projects with the architects who designed them: the East Campus Office Building and Triton Ballpark with Tom Heffernan, AIA, LEED AP, a principal, co-managing director, and licensed architect at Gensler San Diego, and the Spanos Athletic Performance Center with Sean Chen, AIA, a principal at Architects Hanna Gabriel Wells.

The discussion covers the economical, energy-efficient, and durable qualities of tilt-up building sessions. “Could concrete be explored in a way that was evocative of the landscape of San Diego, this kind of duality between a really rustic landscape … and a more refined landscape?” Heffernan asks, remembering the early stages of design when tilt-up was first under consideration. Project walk-throughs and a Q&A paint a picture of how the architects landed on tilt-up and how the buildings have been received by the university community.

Show Notes

This Studio Session is underwritten by Tilt-Up Concrete Association.
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