New Palomar College Learning Resource Center and innovative biotech facility receive design awards
(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) November 26, 2019 —LPA Design Studios was presented with Merit Awards on Nov. 6 from the American Institute of Architects’ San Diego chapter for a project that rethinks the concept of a college library and a new research center for a global pharmaceutical company.
The chapter recognized the new Palomar College Learning Resource Center (LRC) in the Built Commercial category. The design is a modern reinterpretation of a library, with technology rooms, tutoring spaces, study rooms and social areas, designed around flexibility and the changing needs of the campus.
The AIA bestowed an award of merit to the Takeda Research in California project, a 164,000-square-foot, three-story building on a seven-acre site developed with Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. The design focuses on the “intersection of science and the community” and represented the first large-scale use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) in San Diego.
“Both of these projects are the result of a lengthy collaboration process with the clients to develop projects that better serve the people using the facility,” LPA chief executive officer Wendy Rogers said. “We’re proud that the buildings are innovative, good stewards of the environment and responsive to the occupants.”
As an integrated design firm, LPA’s engineers and landscape architects played key roles in developing comprehensive designs for each project, maximizing the indoor-outdoor connections and energy efficiency. The Palomar College LRC met the AIA 2030 Commitment for a 70 percent reduction in fossil fuel use; 9625 Towne Centre Drive earned LEED Gold certification.
“The AIA recognition is validation that our collaborative process achieves results,” said LPA San Diego studio director David Gilmore. “It’s great to see the hard work of so many of our designers in different disciplines recognized by the AIA.”
LPA’s San Diego office is located in a former shoe factory in Barrio Logan, a few blocks from East Village.
The 9,500-square-foot space is LEED-CI Gold certified and exceeds California’s Title 24 standards and benchmarks for the 2030 Challenge for interior spaces.
About
Founded in 1965, LPA specializes in creating innovative environments that work better, do more with less and improve people’s lives. An integrated design firm with six locations in California and Texas, LPA’s team includes more than 400 in-house architects, master planners, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects and research analysts, working across a wide array of sectors. For more information, visit lpadesignstudios.com.
