California College of the Arts
Studio Gang Architects
San Francisco, CA
2024
CCA’s new 90,000 SF campus expansion unites all 34 of its art and design programs at one location in San Francisco. By extending the existing site into a new academic building and shared campus yard, the design provides a creative ecosystem in which collaboration is promoted across disciplines.
The “Double Ground” design is named for its two main ground levels: the concrete lower level, which houses heavy-duty shops and making spaces, and the “upper ground”, where an outdoor plaza and a landscaped garden bring a traditional campus feel to the site. Three pavilions sit along the perimeter of the upper ground, each housing classrooms and flexible studio space. Constructed in mass timber, the pavilions help CCA achieve its bold sustainability goals.
Photos by Jason O'Rear.
The new building acknowledges the diagonal structural language of the existing campus.
A progression of study models shows the evolution of the Double Ground design.
The ground floor features a loop of circulation that links the shops with two outdoor Maker Yards, the lobby, and a central Resource Hub. The Campus Yard connects the new and existing buildings, with a grand stair “Cascade” that draws students up to the upper ground plaza.
The ground floor concrete structure is strong enough to support the weight of heavy shop equipment and the planted landscape above. The pavilion structure features glulam columns, cross-laminated timber floors, and steel lateral braces with “link beams” that are designed to fail in a seismic event. The legibility of the structure helps students to understand how the building is designed.
