The Arts & Computational Sciences Building creates a healthy and active environment for students and supports University of California Merced’s Triple Zero Commitment: Zero Energy, Zero Waste and Zero Carbon.
The project houses computational labs, workspaces, art & dance studios, and an auditorium for campus events. Atelier Ten’s consulting ensured access to daylight and views from all interior spaces, including the computational labs. Thoughtful space planning, interior glazing, and an optimized façade contribute to an exceptional interior experience. Breakout spaces located throughout the building provide areas for collaborative gathering and bring daylight deep into the building.
Strengthening the connection to the adjacent academic quad, programmed exterior space reduces the building’s conditioned area and reduces whole building energy use. The LEED Platinum building consumes 36% less energy than a baseline building and reduces domestic water demand by over 40%.
Atelier Ten’s incident radiation studies and daylight analysis informed the façade design. Each façade responds to orientation and interior program through variations in window-to-wall ratio, glazing design, and external shading. The optimized façade brings usable daylight throughout the building while reducing direct sun exposure, and improving thermal comfort.
