Orange Coast College Mathematics, Business and Computing Center Building
Costa Mesa, California
Many of Orange Coast College’s buildings were designed by renowned architect Richard Neutra in the mid-1950s. His revolutionary yet timeless ideas were the foundation of the design for the new 191,000-square-foot, three-story Mathematics, Business and Computing Center Building.
The building, which houses offices, lecture and laboratory spaces, accomplishes the need to provide each department with its own dedicated space and the commitment to follow Neutra’s campus master plan ideas. Applying Neutra’s concept of indoor and outdoor integration, all classrooms and faculty offices have physical and visual access to outdoor spaces, including views and natural daylight. On the ground floor, sections accommodate student pedestrian flow, and specialty spaces are expressed with distinct destination elements. Each department has a unique identity, housed within its own module and further expressed using colored glass. Classroom and laboratory spaces appear to hover above the ground floor, visually reinforced by rotating the modules at specific angles.
