USD Magazine Summer 2007

building, away from the traffic, is more private but equally inviting. It overlooks a quiet canyon and will soon feature a Mediterranean- style plaza with a fountain, citrus trees and views to the ocean. Wilkes and landscape architect Greg Nowell, of Nowell & Associ- ates, conceived of the building as a series of interior spaces connect- ed to various “outdoor rooms” in the form of the plazas, courtyards and patios. Throughout the build- ing, it’s obvious the designers are making the most of San Diego’s friendly climate. Around its edges, the building features covered arcades similar to those in Balboa Park, which serve as outdoor corri- dors. Many interior rooms open onto courtyards and plazas, with low benches and concrete walls that are perfect places to sit and eat a sandwich or work on a lap- top computer. Walking toward the building fromMarianWay, Wilkes stops to describe the grand main entrance, with its three-tiered arch, wrought- iron grillwork and double 9-foot- high doors. Through those doors, we step into a sizeable space that will soon become a two-story atrium, or sala, Spanish for family room. The sala is modeled on a similar space at the university in Alcalá, where doctoral candidates defend their dissertations. In the SOLES building, this room—with its gas fireplace, coffered ceiling defined by chunky wood beams, and floor of travertine tiles —will

design theme. Adele Smith- Chapman, director of interiors at DelawieWilkes, selected a variety of fine woods. Walnut panels, for instance, adorn the auditorium, executive classroom and reading room. In the cyber café, dark brown vinyl flooring will have a wood-like appearance to achieve the look of old plank floors, but with more durability and less maintenance than real wood. Other interior details inspired by Moorish architecture will include wrought-iron wall sconces and hanging lamps, as well as custom carpeting woven with geometric patterns in blue, brown and gold that resembles the patterns on Spanish tiles. Additionally, a few interior areas will showcase fine art and antique furniture collected by the university over the years, thanks largely to the generosity of various patrons. Outside, landscape architects from Nowell and Associates looked to Moorish gardens for their inspiration. In places like Granada, Spain, 16th-century landscapes expressed the idea of “paradise on earth,” according to former project landscape archi- tect Brad Lenahan. Old Spanish towns were seen by their creators as oases amid a rugged agrarian life dominated by the forces of nature. In this landscape, palm trees, citrus orchards and gently flowing channels, or “runnels” of water will add to the serene atmosphere. Geometric patterns known as “arabesques” incorpo- rate images of plants and animals. In the Muslim world, arabesques express the infinite powers of Allah. Arabesques will appear on tiles, exterior roundels (plaster medallions), and in the lacy patterns stenciled on the sala’s ceiling beams. The Spanish buildings that inspired this one also included the work of craftsmen of a kind one doesn’t often see today. One such craftsman who worked on this project is Encinitas tile artist Laird Plumleigh. His studio’s

be an impressive setting for events like speeches, awards presentations and receptions. It will also serve as a sort of town square, where faculty and students can randomly run into each other and catch up on the news of the day. Adjacent to the sala , in the base of the corner tower, is a student lounge. At the heart of the main floor plan are a 197-seat auditorium, an execu- tive classroom with curved rows of theater-like seats, an interior courtyard and a cyber café. The auditorium will host major SOLES events, as well as events organized by USD and off-campus groups that rent the facility. The café is essential because many of the school’s graduate students are working professionals who attend classes at night and need a place to grab a quick meal or a cup of coffee. Many of these students are also parents who will appreciate the first-floor children’s playroom as well as restrooms designed to accommodate children (and diaper changing). In the executive classroom, multimedia equipment will be used for teleconferences with universities anywhere in the world — a student on another continent might “attend” a lecture at USD, and a professor teach- ing on the East Coast could share her thoughts with students at USD. Unlike older buildings that have been awkwardly retrofitted with new technology, the high-tech equipment here will be incorporated so that it is barely noticeable. On the second floor are offices that include the dean’s suite, as well as another student lounge (also in the tower), more classrooms, conference rooms and a media resource center. Interactive classrooms will function as laboratories where students can observe and be observed in various set- tings. Interactivity is an essential element of the building. Students will study the behavior of children, and demonstration rooms will allow faculty to familiarize students with the technologies and techniques they will eventually use in the field. Supervised therapy sessions, development of skills with learning lab equipment, work at seminar tables, and preparing lessons that use a variety of manipulatives, such as toys and games, will all help students gain experience in simulated real-world settings. The second level’s most dramatic feature will be a reading room of a kind you’ll find at grand old universities like the one in Alcalá — and, in fact, similar to USD’s own Sister Rosalie Hill Reading Room in the Copley Library —with rows of big wood tables. It will be a space worthy of weighty leather-bound tomes. T hroughout the building, members of the design team— archi- tects, interior designers, landscape designers — have worked together to ensure that design details remain consistent with the Spanish theme. Materials were selected to appear solid and refined, while fitting within the $36 million budget. The exterior combines real stone, precast concrete, plaster, and fiberglass to create architectural details that look authentic compared with the solid stone that was prevalent in 16th-century Spanish architecture. In areas where visitors come close to materials, such as court- yards and prominent entries, Mexican adoquin and other stone in pale earthtones make a strong impression. For decorative moldings around arches, the architects ordered custom concrete castings. Upper-level finials (ornate spires that project above the edges of the roof) are made from fiberglass, covered with a material that looks uncannily like real stone. Together with recessed windows, wrought-iron grillwork and an exterior subdivided by towers that echo the main entry tower, the end result is a building that will capture the subtle play of light and shadow that is a signature of romantic Spanish Renaissance architecture. Throughout the building’s interior, materials extend the elegant, historical

INTERIOR DESIGNER ADELE SMITH-CHAPMAN

selected materials for the inside of the SOLES building that were both elegant and historical in nature, including fine woods, custom carpet- ing and wrought-iron grillwork.

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