The University of California, Davis held the groundbreaking ceremony for their newest and most advanced lecture hall this month. Designed by architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the 600-seat academic space will provide state-of-the-art learning opportunities for the University's growing enrollment.
Designed to deliver an innovative learning experience unlike any other lecture hall on campus, the 16,365-square-foot classroom will include fixed desks and swivel chairs equipped with power outlets for plugging in laptops and other technology. Three projection screens, operated by a touchpad accessible to the instructor, will allow for visual aids.
The hall's unique clamshell design will also provide for a larger lecture space, serving more students than the usual 150-200 seen in standard lecture halls. The building's lobby will connect interior academic activities to an adjacent plaza and an exterior café-style kiosk equipped with ample seating and WiFi access.
Campus planners and the Bohlin Cywinski Jackson design team used feedback from over 3,000 student surveys and more than 100 faculty and staff in various design work groups to shape the future-thinking and people-oriented design of the lecture hall. The new learning space will help meet the need to grow enrollment under the campus's 2020 Initiative and is expected to reduce course waitlists and the time it takes for students to get the classes they need to earn their degrees in a timely manner.
"The new Lecture Hall is designed to provide much needed instructional space for the University's growing enrollment," said Karl Backus, design principal from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson's San Francisco office. "We received valuable input from administration, faculty, and students to create a highly interactive learning environment with state-of-the-art technology and advanced sustainability."