The Sciences and Engineering Laboratories at SDSU Imperial Valley, Brawley supports the burgeoning Lithium Valley and the university’s commitment to workforce development in both current and future geothermal energy sector demands through new four-year degree programs. The 36,000 square foot lab facility houses a STEM Innovation Hub, undergraduate science labs, core facilities, and collaborative spaces for public and private partners to work side by side with faculty and students in lithium research. The new building creates a sense of place and identity for the campus in Brawley, California.

The architectural vernacular embraces sustainability and resilient strategies derived from site specific climate and regional heritage. The design includes open collaboration spaces inside and sheltered outdoor spaces with a solar photovoltaic canopy to provide comfortable areas for students to hang out before, between and after classes. As one the most lab intensive SDSU facilities, incorporating flexibility and adaptability for future changes in STEM research is paramount in the design. By addressing the demands of intense science research and incorporating architectural sensibility that acknowledges the low-desert climatic environs and cultural heritage of the area, this project is a beacon of STEM learning in Brawley.

The project aims to double the enrollment of the SDSU Imperial Valley campus, delivering the future leaders of economic and employment opportunity brought by the development of the State’s Lithium Valley initiative. The project is a result of $80 million in state funding from Governor Gavin Newsom and university investments to expand STEM opportunities. 

The New Learning Commons at Placer High School is a two-story, 16,000-square-foot building that replaced an existing 8,000-square-foot single-story building. The new building has become the main entrance and hub of the campus, serving as a community focal point. The first floor of the building includes a food court-styled cafeteria with two overhead garage doors that open to a covered outdoor seating area and a snack bar counter. The learning commons on the second floor includes a career center, classroom, two study rooms, book stacks, a circulation desk, and an outdoor covered patio. Both levels include a variety of seating and studying options with collaboration space, quiet study space, soft seating, and reading nooks.

A key design feature of the building is a Learning Stair in the main lobby that connects the first and second floors, providing a light-filled space for students to collaborate. The building is modern with a collegiate sensibility that incorporates elements from the historic campus including a Spanish tile hip roof, yellow stucco finish with a red base, black trim, wrought iron details, punched windows, arches, and colonnades. Natural limestone and a decorative tile detail with backlit laser-cut metal panels add a new texture to the façade.

In the interior, the structure of the building is celebrated with exposed steel X-braces, polished concrete flooring, and open ceilings with floating clouds for acoustics. The color palette and finishes pay homage to the local foothill geography and mining history with carpet that reflects the stratified earth, and references to copper, gold, wood, and leather. The school logo and colors of green and gold were incorporated into the furnishings.