Sited at the heart of San Diego’s Mesa College Campus, the Social and Behavioral Sciences Building is a three-story, cast-in-place concrete building, the result of several workshops between JWDA and SDCC’s Mesa College faculty members with the shared objective of creating a new campus core. The building is clad with a metal skin and curtain wall system in colors of glass, reflecting the diversity and interconnectedness of the social and behavioral sciences.

LEED Silver Certified, the 73,700 SF building includes 66,000 SF of “smart” classrooms, laboratory spaces for Psychology, Anthropology, and Geography programs, special recording studios, administrative offices, faculty offices and lounges, student lounges, lobby and exhibit space, support spaces, and a third floor features a multi-use patio. Its layout includes a series of courtyards that open toward the Mesa College Quad, providing natural light and ventilation to the interior spaces. 

Among its many sustainable features, a passive ventilation system ties a series of power-operated windows on two sides of each classroom with an overall weather-monitoring system. At pre-set temperatures, windows open automatically and HVAC systems shut down. The system is linked to the campus-wide energy management system, allowing for remote operation.