A Living Room for Campus

The 35,000 SF Waugh Student Center at Vanguard University is designed as the social heart of campus, a place where daily life, connection, and community come together. Located at the campus core, the building opens directly to an expanded quad, creating a seamless relationship between indoor and outdoor space and establishing a welcoming, central destination for students.

Designed for Daily Life

Dining, recreation, and study are brought together in a flexible environment that supports how students actually use the space. Expanded food service accommodates a growing student resident population, while dining areas are designed to transition easily between meals, study, and social use. A two-story gymnasium supports intramural sports and wellness, while also functioning as a multi-purpose venue for events, performances, and large gatherings, extending the building’s role beyond the everyday.

Flexible, Social, Connected

Throughout the building, spaces are designed to adapt, supporting everything from informal study to campus-wide events. A fitness center, student lounge, and outdoor deck with integrated gathering areas provide additional layers of activity, while features such as fireplaces and open-air spaces create a comfortable, inviting atmosphere. Together, the student center and quad form a cohesive environment that supports connection, engagement, and a vibrant campus experience.

The Center of Campus Life

Located at the heart of Santa Ana College, the 68,000 SF Johnson Student Center is designed as both a destination and a point of connection, anchoring the campus core while opening outward to the surrounding community. Organized around a central courtyard and aligned with the campus mall, the building establishes a clear sense of arrival and identity, reinforcing its role as a gateway and everyday gathering place.

Services Brought Together

The center consolidates a wide range of student services and programs into a single, accessible location, from financial aid and student support programs to health services, student life, and international services. Social and retail spaces, including the campus store and café, activate the ground level, while student government and support services are integrated throughout. This unified approach simplifies navigation, strengthens access, and supports students across every stage of their academic journey.

Designed for Engagement

Flexible, light-filled interiors and an open circulation framework create spaces that support both structured and informal use. A multi-functional conferencing center accommodates everything from small meetings to large events, while shared gathering areas and the exterior court extend activity beyond the building. Together, these spaces foster connection, encourage interaction, and create a vibrant environment that supports both campus life and community engagement.

Connecting Land and Sea

The Professional Mariner Training Center at Orange Coast College extends the campus toward the water, linking academic instruction with hands-on maritime training. Positioned across Pacific Coast Highway from the existing Sailing Center, the facility is defined by a new pedestrian bridge that safely connects the two, transforming a physical barrier into a seamless extension of campus.

From Classroom to Water

The 10,200 SF facility is organized to support focused instruction, with classrooms, a computer lab, and support spaces elevated above on-grade parking. Designed for students preparing for careers on the water, the building provides a direct relationship between learning environments and the adjacent harbor, reinforcing the connection between theory and practice.

An Icon for Discovery

At the heart of Orange Coast College, the Planetarium is designed as a defining campus landmark, an architectural expression of science, curiosity, and exploration. Guided by a clear vision to create an iconic structure that unmistakably reads as a planetarium, the building draws from the campus’s mid-century modern roots while introducing a bold, contemporary form. Its geometry and site organization echo celestial movement, reinforcing its identity as a place of discovery.

Designed Through Collaboration

The program emerged through extensive workshops with faculty, administrators, and community members, ensuring the building reflects both academic and public needs. Serving K-12 students, college programs, and the broader community, the planetarium is conceived as a shared educational resource, welcoming a wide range of users and learning experiences under one roof.

An Immersive Learning Environment

At its core is a 130-seat immersive theater equipped with both digital and traditional star projection systems, allowing the space to function as a planetarium, lecture hall, and performance venue. Surrounding exhibit areas and features such as a Foucault pendulum extend learning beyond the theater, creating an environment where science is not only taught, but experienced.

A Hub for Applied Learning

This 288,000 SF facility serves as a hands-on learning environment for career technical education programs including: Public Safety, Aircraft Maintenance, Architecture, Industrial Design & Manufacturing, Computer & Networking, Electronics, Nursing, Mental Health, Respiratory Therapy, Radiology, Aeronautics & Air Traffic Control. Purpose-built resource centers for health careers and technology education anchor the building, alongside faculty and division offices, creating a comprehensive academic ecosystem designed to prepare students for real-world careers.

Visibility and Accessibility

A central spine organizes the building and provides visual access into active labs and learning environments. This transparency showcases each discipline in action, exposing students to the full spectrum of programs and encouraging exploration across fields of study.

Spaces That Engage

Learning extends beyond the classroom. Throughout the building, flexible sticky spaces invite students to study, collaborate, or recharge between classes, supporting peer connection, informal learning, and sustained engagement with campus life.

Built for the Real World

The design reflects the environments and technologies students will encounter in their professions, reinforcing both technical skill development and professional readiness. Carefully integrated into a significantly sloping site, the building aligns with the Campus Master Plan by enhancing wayfinding, accessibility, open space, and campus connectivity.

The Center of Campus Life

Positioned at a pivotal campus crossroads, the Student & Welcome Center Complex establishes a new center of gravity for Mt. SAC. Conceived as both destination and connector, the project brings together student life, services, and community spaces into a highly visible, active hub. The LEED Silver Student Center serves as the campus living room, a place to gather, study, dine, and engage, while reinforcing the college’s broader vision for access, connection, and student success.

Open, Active, and Connected

Organized across three levels and shaped by a sloping site, the building creates multiple points of entry and a seamless relationship between interior spaces and surrounding plazas. Open circulation and visual transparency encourage movement and interaction, creating an environment of constant activity and awareness. A mix of lounges, study areas, meeting spaces, and student organization zones supports both structured and informal use, while a 1,070-seat banquet facility extends the building’s role to campus-wide and community events.

Intuitive and Welcoming

Linked by a second-floor bridge, the Welcome Center anchors the student experience from the moment of arrival. Student-facing services are organized for clarity and ease of access, creating an intuitive and supportive environment for prospective and current students alike. Together, the two buildings frame a network of outdoor spaces and circulation paths that establish a clear, universally accessible route through campus, transforming disparate programs and services into a clear and cohesive experience.

A New Point of Arrival

The project redefines how the campus is approached and experienced, transforming a utilitarian edge into a clear and welcoming front door. A new four-level parking structure provides capacity for 829 vehicles, while establishing a strong physical and visual presence along Temple Avenue. Together with a series of streetscape improvements, the project frames a new campus edge that is both functional and identity-driven.

Bridging Campus and City

At the center of the project, a 500-foot pedestrian bridge spans Temple Avenue, linking the parking structure and transit center directly to the campus core. More than a crossing, the bridge creates a safe, visible, and uninterrupted path for students moving between city and campus. Its elevated alignment and integration with surrounding circulation systems transform a major arterial barrier into a connective element that supports daily movement at scale.

A Corridor of Movement and Landscape

Along Temple Avenue, the project introduces a new green corridor that extends the campus outward. Landscape, circulation, and infrastructure are coordinated to support both vehicular flow and pedestrian experience, creating a layered sequence of movement from arrival to destination. The result is a gateway that not only improves access, but reshapes the relationship between campus, transit, and the surrounding community.

Shaped by Site

Set on a sloping site, the Business & Computer Technology Complex is composed of three interconnected volumes organized around a central, multi-level exterior space. This open-air commons becomes the heart of the project, structuring circulation, shaping identity, and creating a shared environment for gathering and exchange. More than a courtyard, it acts as a campus gateway, linking parking to the academic core through a sequence of terraces, paths, and social spaces.

A Framework for Diverse Programs

The complex brings together a wide range of academic disciplines, from business and computer science to design, hospitality, and culinary arts, within a single, coordinated environment. Organized along a central circulation spine, each program branches into its own identifiable zone, allowing departments to maintain a distinct presence while remaining connected to the larger whole. In spaces like Culinary Arts, this identity becomes experiential, where a student lobby transforms into a functioning restaurant interface, blending learning with real-world application.

Paths That Connect

Movement through the complex is intentional and varied. A network of primary paths, secondary connections, and more informal routes supports both efficient circulation and moments of pause. Changes in grade are leveraged to create multiple entry points and layered connections between buildings and outdoor spaces, ensuring universal access while enriching the spatial experience. The result is a campus environment that supports study, collaboration, and everyday interaction at every level.

Where Athletics Meets Landscape

Set at the edge of campus, the Beach Volleyball and Wildlife Sanctuary project brings together two distinct programs into a unified environment shaped by both activity and ecology. The new sand volleyball complex introduces competition-ready courts, spectator seating, and support facilities, while the adjacent sanctuary enhances access to a more natural, contemplative landscape. Together, they create a destination that supports both high-performance athletics and everyday connection to the outdoors.

Designed for Performance and Gathering

The volleyball facility is organized to support both championship-level play and daily use. Integrated bleachers, shade structures, and gathering areas create a cohesive spectator experience, while support spaces, including restrooms and storage, ensure functionality for athletics programs. The design balances durability and flexibility, allowing the complex to host events while remaining accessible to students and the broader campus community.

Access, Arrival, and Connection

Improvements to the Wildlife Sanctuary establish a more defined and welcoming point of entry, including a new gateway, enhanced bus stop, and supporting amenities. Circulation and site upgrades strengthen connections between athletics, open space, and surrounding campus facilities, making the area more accessible and intuitive. Delivered during a period of campus shutdowns, the project advanced through digital coordination and streamlined decision-making, demonstrating a responsive approach to both design and delivery.

A Clear Point of Arrival

The Welcome Center at Moreno Valley College establishes a new front door for the campus, designed to be intuitive, accessible, and immediately supportive. As the first stop for many students, the building creates a clear sense of arrival, guiding users seamlessly to key services while setting the tone for a welcoming and student-centered experience.

Designed Around the Student Experience

A wide range of essential programs, including admissions, financial services, counseling, and student support initiatives, are brought together in a single, easy-to-navigate environment. Spaces are organized to reduce confusion and eliminate barriers, allowing staff and student ambassadors to provide direct, visible support. Integrated waiting, study, and lounge areas, paired with digital queuing systems, allow students to stay engaged and productive while accessing services.

Inclusive, Supportive, Connected

Beyond core services, the Welcome Center creates space for community and belonging. Programs such as the Dream Center, First Year Experience, and the Common Ground Center provide dedicated support for diverse student populations, reinforcing a culture of inclusion. Through thoughtful planning and a focus on human experience, the building becomes more than a service hub, it becomes a place where students feel supported from the moment they arrive.

A Renewed Campus Landscape

The transformation of Rocky Young Park at Pierce College reimagines the site as a welcoming and functional campus destination. Updated landscaping, accessible pathways, improved circulation, and modernized hardscape create a clear and cohesive environment that supports daily use and long-term resilience.

Designed for Campus Life

Planned as a vibrant setting for recreation, gathering, and informal activity, the park strengthens campus connectivity while enhancing comfort, usability, and visual identity, reflecting a design approach centered on people, place, and experience.

A Hub for Student Life

The new Student Center at Long Beach City College is envisioned as the Student’s House on campus, a welcoming destination that brings dining, gathering, and essential student services together under one roof. Designed to support connection and daily campus life, the Center creates an active, inclusive environment for both students and visitors.

Designed for Experience

Targeting LEED Silver, the building emphasizes collaboration, accessibility, and intuitive wayfinding. Contemporary in expression yet respectful of campus history, the architecture opens gracefully to the main mall, strengthening campus flow and reinforcing a sense of arrival.

A Place for Community

A challenge-turned-opportunity was the rapid growth of the College’s eSports Lab. Initially planned to be housed in the Center, the program’s success and expansion ultimately required more space, prompting its relocation to another building. This unexpected change inspired a new opportunity for engagement. A large projection screen designed into the 3-story volume of the Center will livestream eSports competitions, transforming the space into a flexible venue for gathering, events, and shared campus experiences.

Balancing History and Progress

Building M is designed to extend the character of Long Beach City College’s historic campus core while introducing a contemporary learning environment. Rather than replicate or contrast, the 97,000 SF building aligns with the campus’s established scale, materials, and rhythm, creating continuity while clearly expressing its role as a 21st-century academic facility.

Organized for Connection and Access

The three-story building is structured as a T-shaped plan that organizes circulation and defines a series of exterior plazas along the campus pedestrian spine. These spaces support movement, gathering, and informal study, while reinforcing clear connections across the site. At the ground level, student-facing programs, including the Reading and Writing Center and Student Success Center, open directly to these courtyards, creating a visible and accessible layer of support integrated into daily campus life.

A Framework for Learning

Inside, a mix of classrooms, labs, offices, and a large lecture hall supports a range of academic programs, from Language Arts to Career Technical Education. These spaces are paired with informal study areas and collaborative environments that extend learning beyond the classroom. Delivered as the first state-funded design-build project in the California Community College system, the building reflects a coordinated, performance-driven approach, achieving LEED Gold and establishing a new benchmark for instructional space on campus.

A New Kind of Arena

The eSports Lab at Long Beach City College reimagines what an athletics facility can be, blending competition, technology, and community into a single, high-performance environment. Designed to support one of the region’s leading collegiate eSports programs, the space functions as both a competitive arena and an everyday destination for students.

Designed for Play and Connection

At the core of the lab are 47 high-performance gaming stations organized to support both individual and team-based play. A dedicated casting booth and integrated display systems elevate gameplay into a spectator experience, allowing competitions to be broadcast and shared in real time. The layout encourages interaction and collaboration, creating an environment that supports teamwork, strategy, and engagement.

Open, Inclusive, and Active

Beyond competition, the space is designed to be welcoming and accessible, supporting students who come to learn, connect, or recharge between classes. As part of the Athletics Department, the lab expands the definition of campus life, offering a flexible, tech-forward environment that reflects how students gather, compete, and build community today.

Industry in Action

The Electrical Technology Complex at Long Beach City College brings hands-on learning to the forefront, pairing a new classroom and lab building with the adaptive reuse of an existing facility to create a unified hub for electrical technology and advanced manufacturing. Located at the Pacific Coast Campus, this project expands program capacity while consolidating resources into a cohesive, purpose-built environment.

Built for How Students Learn

Seven active learning labs and specialized environments for building controls, lighting systems, robotics, and automated systems support immersive, real-world instruction. Spaces dedicated to programmable logic controllers (PLCs), the technology behind automated systems like traffic signals, manufacturing lines, and building operations, give students hands-on experience with the tools that power everyday infrastructure. An overhead service grid allows power, air, and data to be deployed flexibly across lab spaces. Indoor labs extend to an outdoor training yard, where students engage directly with solar installations, traffic systems, and automation technologies, bridging theory and application.

A Shared Campus Resource

In addition to specialized labs, the complex includes general classrooms, the 120-seat Dyer Lecture Hall, and the Lifetime Learning Center, extending its impact beyond the core program. Positioned along the campus promenade, the project strengthens connectivity and contributes to a broader network of career education facilities, supporting both workforce development and community learning.

Renewal in Motion

Originally constructed in the 1960s, the 105,000 SF Math and Computer Science Building at El Camino College has been reimagined as the new home for the College’s Industry and Technology programs. The renovation transforms an aging facility into a contemporary academic environment that supports a wide range of transfer, degree, and certificate pathways.

Infrastructure Rebuilt

Comprehensive upgrades included structural strengthening, full replacement of building systems, integration with campus infrastructure, and improvements to the building envelope. Site enhancements to hardscape and landscape further strengthen the building’s presence while creating a more welcoming and functional campus setting.

Programs Activated

The modernized facility now supports 13 departments, providing flexible environments aligned with technical instruction and workforce preparation. On the ground floor, the Cosmetology Department opens directly to the public, allowing students to gain hands-on experience while serving real clients in a professional setting.

Applied Learning Hub

The new CTE Building at Citrus College is designed as a hands-on learning environment that prepares students for today’s workforce. Flexible, technology-rich spaces support a range of career pathways, creating an academic setting where instruction and real-world application work side by side.

Built for Practice

Advanced labs, simulation environments, and collaborative areas replicate professional conditions across disciplines, from Automotive and Diesel to Nursing and Cosmetology, giving students direct experience with the tools, systems, and workflows they will encounter in their careers.

Future Ready

By aligning instructional space with industry standards, the facility strengthens workforce readiness while supporting evolving program needs, ensuring the building remains relevant as technologies and training demands advance.

A Creative & Analytical Hub

The Math, CIS, and Fine Arts Complex at Cerritos College brings together disciplines that shape both logic and expression. Comprising a 34,500 SF Math/CIS building and a 56,890 SF Fine Arts building, the project unites diverse academic programs within a cohesive environment designed to support focused study and creative exploration.

Spaces for Making & Thinking

Classrooms, labs, faculty offices, an art gallery, film studio, and a 120-seat lecture theatre provide a range of specialized environments tailored to each discipline. These spaces support technical instruction, artistic production, and collaborative learning within settings designed for flexibility and performance.

Gathering Elevated

An elevated deck and plaza create an active social spine between the buildings, offering naturally daylit spaces for informal study, conversation, and connection. Together, the indoor and outdoor environments foster interaction, strengthen campus life, and extend learning beyond the classroom.

Renewal & Expansion

The Cerritos College Health Sciences Building transforms an existing three-story facility through modernization, seismic retrofit, and a strategic addition that expands the building from 49,140 to 53,845 GSF. The upgraded environment supports a diverse group of health-focused programs, including Dental Hygiene, Dental Assisting, Child Development, Physical Therapist Assistant, Cosmetology, and division offices.

Clarity in Design

A restructured plan establishes intuitive circulation, efficient building systems, and a clear sense of arrival. Daylit interiors and open gathering areas enhance visibility, safety, and informal interaction, creating an environment that supports both focused study and daily campus life.

A Place with Purpose

The design reinforces a distinct presence for the Health Occupations Division and its departments, aligning space with program needs and professional training standards. Updated learning environments provide students with hands-on experience in settings that reflect contemporary industry practice.

A Campus Crossroads

The Quad serves as one of the campus’s most active public spaces, shaped by significant pedestrian flow from four primary access points. The design strengthens this central role by organizing movement clearly and intuitively, reinforcing connections between surrounding programs and buildings.

Movement, Clarified

To support varied circulation patterns, especially with the addition of the Student Services and Administration Building, the plan establishes a strong north-south spine supported by layered pathways. A high-capacity fast lane along the west edge enables efficient travel, while secondary routes link key destinations and slower, meandering paths on the east encourage exploration.

Space for Community

Intimate seating areas, shaded by canopy trees and structures, invite gathering and informal use throughout the day. Flexible hardscape and lawn zones accommodate events of multiple scales, creating a landscape that supports both everyday campus life and larger shared experiences.

Where Curiosity Begins

The Cerritos College Child Development Center serves 125 children ages 2-5 within a purpose-built early learning environment designed for safety, discovery, and growth. Located on a one-acre site, the 9,200 SF facility creates a welcoming setting where young learners can explore, interact, and thrive.

Learning in Practice

Four classrooms, instructional labs, and outdoor learning spaces support both early childhood education and teacher preparation programs. The center functions as a living laboratory, providing hands-on training, internships, and real-world experience for future educators.

Designed for Care

Constructed using high-quality modular systems, the building delivers efficiency, durability, and adaptability while maintaining a warm, nurturing atmosphere. The result is an environment that supports developmental learning and reflects the college’s commitment to innovation in education.

A Campus Connector

The new 56,717 SF School of Business at California Baptist University is designed as both a destination and a pathway, organizing movement, gathering, and learning around a central open-air promenade. This two-story spine creates a direct connection between major parking areas and the campus core, transforming everyday circulation into an active, social experience.

Designed for Interaction

Lecture halls, computer labs, and academic spaces are arranged along the promenade, allowing for direct access and a seamless flow between indoors and outdoors. This organization encourages visibility, accessibility, and informal interaction to mimic the collaborative, fast-paced environments students will encounter in their professional careers.

Built for Creative Production

The 15,000 SF Commercial Music Building at California Baptist University is designed to support the next generation of music creators, providing a purpose-built environment for recording, production, and performance. Located on a prominent triangular site within the campus, the facility expands the Collinsworth School of Performing Arts and establishes a dedicated home for the University’s growing Commercial Music program.

Spaces Tuned for Performance

At the center of the building is a flagship recording studio, supported by a range of student production studios designed for flexibility and hands-on learning. Each space is carefully calibrated to support a range of uses, from individual production work to collaborative recording, giving students access to professional-grade environments that reflect the realities of the industry they are preparing to enter.

Precision in Design

Given the technical demands of sound, the building is shaped by a rigorous approach to acoustic performance. Close coordination with acoustic consultants informed the design of walls, systems, and adjacencies to ensure sound isolation and clarity throughout. The result is a highly controlled environment where creativity and technical precision work together, supporting both the craft of music production and the experience of learning it.

Built for Performance

The 12,500 SF Athletic Performance Center at California Baptist University is a purpose-built training environment designed to elevate the development of student-athletes across all NCAA Division I programs. As a major expansion of the University’s existing recreation facilities, the center significantly increases training capacity while establishing a unified space for strength, conditioning, and performance.

Training at Scale

At the core of the facility is a 10,800 SF open training floor, one of the largest of its kind among NCAA Division I non-football programs in California, equipped with advanced strength and conditioning systems. A six-lane indoor running track and dedicated training zones support speed, agility, and endurance, while direct connections to adjacent recreation and basketball facilities create a continuous, high-energy training environment.

Designed for Team and Recovery

Beyond performance, the facility supports the full student-athlete experience. Locker rooms, nutrition spaces, and recovery-focused environments are designed to promote wellness, preparation, and team culture. Together, these spaces create a cohesive setting where training, recovery, and connection come together, supporting both individual performance and collective success.