Cal State LA’s new South Village is the campus’s first traditional-style student residence. Originally dubbed Student Housing East, the residence offers 1,500 beds and helps expand the university’s goal to improve student engagement by providing experiences that allow students to collaborate, socialize, and interact in profound and impactful ways. The 380,000 square feet dormitory wraps around a large plaza and garden where students can relax, study and congregate.
Clark Pacific’s Infinite Facade product was the choice for the building envelope. Infinite Facade uses the standard frame and connections while meeting or exceeding building and energy code requirements, leaving the Infinite Facade to become a blank canvas for the architect. The architect had a wide range of exterior finishes, colors, textures, and form liners, to freely create their vision. The architect conceptualized a ‘kinetic’ facade that resembled a play curtain where the sun creates movement through shadows and angles.
Adjacent to the Long Beach Freeway and surrounded by other campus facilities, there were inherent challenges related to logistics, safety, site control, and material deliveries. Conventional construction was replaced by a prefabricated building facade manufactured by Clark Pacific to help stay on schedule and budget. Furthermore, with the project being constructed early in the pandemic, a prefabricated approach reduced the number of workers on-site, complying with CDC and government regulations. Clark Pacific’s Infinite Facade is manufactured offsite in a climate-controlled environment, improving quality and consistency. Infinite facade’s integrated system includes the frame, insulation, fire safing, windows, weather barrier, and exterior finish. While the building envelope system was manufactured offsite, an average of 3,000 square feet a day was erected. A total of 715 panels were on the building within 45 days, shortening the schedule to allow the general contractor to begin the interior build-out quicker.
Additional Resources:
Eye-Catching Aesthetics Boost Curb Appeal of New Student Dorm at Cal State LA – CA Builder and Engineer Article
