Much will be written in coming years about the University of California, Merced.
Some will marvel at how the institution started with an empty grassland field in 2002 and rose to its present stature as a major research university of nearly 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students on a residential campus of 14 buildings.
Others will study its groundbreaking achievements in sustainability, now a template of best practice in higher education. Many will learn from the school’s historic public-private partnership (P3), the largest ever executed in the U.S.
Watching over all this since the inception of the master plan is Michael Duncan, FAIA, senior design partner in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s San Francisco office. “This project is a privilege. Usually, higher education buildings are done one by one, with a master plan goal set out many decades in the future. Rarely does it come together so rapidly and at this scale,” Duncan says.
UC Merced was developed in phases, with the $1.2 billion phase two portion completed last year. Duncan served as the phase two design leader, overseeing the work of a diverse architectural team. Recently Duncan discussed several aspects of the award-winning project.
- Sustainability. The school counts many firsts in its short history, including becoming the first U.S. public research university to achieve carbon neutrality, with all buildings certified LEED Platinum. “The lessons learned here show how an entire campus can perform sustainably. Others can study how the infrastructure works and apply the ideas to their campus,” observes Duncan.
- Densification. “Phase two expansion allowed us think critically of the campus character,” Duncan says. “We folded the campus back in on itself, blending the academic and housing cores. The heart and soul of the campus is now well-rooted in a tight footprint, without sprawl.” Service vehicles, for example, use an innovative below-grade handling area to preserve a pedestrian-friendly environment. “There are no back doors,” Duncan says.
- Visual Communication. To help achieve the connection to nature and daylight, glazing is “a big part of the campus language,” the architect reports. Fire-resistive glass proved instrumental in expanding that vocabulary. Duncan cites two examples:
“We have a communicating stair in the dining hall that allows natural light and creates fire separation. It’s important in helping bring people together. In the lab buildings there’s fire-resistive glass adjacent to a chemical storage area. One is all about communication, the other about functionality.”
The fire-resistive glazing came with a bonus. The production facility of Safti-First, the manufacturer, is a 10-minute drive from the campus, helping earn transit LEED points. Safti-First glazing was specified in eight buildings. Interior and exterior 1- and 2-hour fire-resistive glass, rated as ASTM E-119 walls, were installed using SuperLite II-XL. Full vision 60- and 90-minute doors were also installed.
For Duncan, the project is humbling. “I’m amazed projects this large and complicated can still come in on-time and on-budget. The school is a beacon of inspiration for the entire San Joaquin Valley.”
Learn more about UC Merced and how Safti-First fire-resistive glass helps expand the campus design palette.
