“Students no longer take three scheduled meals a day, preceded or followed by concentrated periods of study,” says Jim Favaro, Principle Architect of UCLA’s new Hedrick Study project. “Young people today want the option of taking meals and studying in fragments of time throughout the day and night.”
It is this idea that drove the design of the Hedrick Study, a modern hybrid of library, lounge, and dining hall on the UCLA campus. The Johnson Favaro-designed space took an existing 22,000-sf food-court-style kitchen and cafeteria in Hedrick and turned it into a more suitable 24-hour space.
The original kitchen was updated to service all of UCLA’s west campus residences. The remaining 11,000-sf was renovated to include a European-style food hall, a fireplace lounge, a large central reading room, and a quiet study room. Naturally lit lounges and smaller study areas surround all the main areas.
Photo Credit: John Ellis.
The central reading room has a custom-printed sunset ceiling and allows students to observe surrounding activity through wall openings while remaining acoustically isolated and conducive to individual study. The separate, midnight-blue quiet study room continues the theme created with the central reading room’s sunset ceiling through the use of a NASA photograph of the universe on the ceiling. On the north side of the central reading room, wrapped in full height black chalkboard walls, is the fireside lounge.
On the east side of the reading room is the main lounge. Modeled after a hotel lobby, the main lounge faces out onto gardens and provides group seating, individual seating, reading tables, and study carrels. Group study rooms are located along the south wall. The west side of the reading room has three 20-foot-long community tables at bar height.
The space is the result of an amalgamation of design inspirations: hipster hotels, steampunk, and the maker movement; traditional university libraries like UCLA’s Powell Library an Harvard’s Widener; and the Italian rosticceria, French boulangerie, English pub, and American delicatessen.
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Jun 10, 2016
Form4 designs curved roofs for project at Stanford Research Park
Fabricated of painted recycled aluminum, the wavy roofs at the Innovation Curve campus will symbolize the R&D process and make four buildings more sustainable.
University Buildings | Jun 9, 2016
Designing for interdisciplinary communication in university buildings
Bringing people together remains the main objective when designing academic projects. SRG Design Principal Kent Duffy encourages interaction and discovery with a variety of approaches.
Building Team Awards | May 31, 2016
Gonzaga's new student center is a bustling social hub
Retail mall features, comfortable furniture, and floor-to-ceiling glass add vibrancy to the new John J. Hemmingson Center.
University Buildings | May 26, 2016
U. of Chicago approves Diller Scofidio + Renfro design for new campus building
With a two-story base and 165-foot tower, the Rubenstein Forum will have room for informal meetings, lectures, and other university events.
University Buildings | Apr 27, 2016
SmithGroupJJR’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Building named 2016 Lab of the Year
Sustainable features like chilled beams and solar screens help the University of Illinois research facility use 50% less energy than minimum building energy efficiency standards.
University Buildings | Apr 25, 2016
New University of Calgary research center features reconfigurable 'spine'
The heart of the Taylor Institute can be anything from a teaching lab to a 400-seat theater.
University Buildings | Apr 13, 2016
Technology defines growth at Ringling College of Arts & Design
Named America's “most wired campus" in 2014, Ringling is adding a library, visual arts center, soundstage, and art museum.
University Buildings | Apr 13, 2016
5 ways universities use new buildings to stay competitive
From incubators to innovation centers, schools desire ‘iconic gateways’ that appeal to students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and the community.
University Buildings | Apr 4, 2016
3 key trends in student housing for Boston’s higher education community
The city wants to add 18,500 student residence beds by the year 2030. CannonDesign's Lynne Deninger identifies three strategies that will help schools maximize value over the next decade or so.
University Buildings | Mar 15, 2016
Behnisch Architekten designs Harvard’s proposed Science and Engineering Complex
The 497,000-sf building will be the home of the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
