New York-based design studio Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects has been selected to design the new Institute of the Arts and Sciences at the scenic University of California campus in Santa Cruz (UCSC). The firm will be working alongside San Francisco architects TEF and landscape architect Cheryl Barton.
The images shown here are depict Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects’s original response to the competition brief but do not reflect the final design. These concepts will be refined over the coming months as the UCSC continues its fundraising mission. Total project costs have been estimated at $55m with construction costs set between $32m and $40m.
Speaking on the announcement, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien commented: “The site for this Institute is one of unsurpassed beauty. We are inspired by the challenge to create a place that will nourish the spirit of discovery and honour the power of this land. We hope to make a place with a great and shining spirit to nurture a rich and creative dialogue for the arts and sciences.”
This new development by the UCSC will be the first of its kind at a research university, bringing together these two disciplines and examining their relationship with wider subject areas.
The 30,000 sq m facility will be sited between ancient oak trees and second growth redwoods with a style that avoids monumental gestures and scale. It will incorporate exhibition galleries, seminar rooms, event spaces, collection storage, studios and offices, a café, and numerous public gathering areas.
UCSC Campus Architect John Barnes furthers: “There is no other university in the world that attempts to coexist with a natural landscape of UCSC’s complexity and beauty. And there is no other academic program trying to do what the Institute will do.
“We are looking for architects with the intelligence to challenge our preconceptions, the flexibility to respond to our requirements, and the creativity to ignite the imagination of those who will use and visit the Institute.”
