8980 Villa La Jolla Drive
san diego
BEST PROJECT
Presented by Swinnerton
owner GPI Corp.
Leading design company executioner
General Contractor Swinnerton
Civil Engineer Latitude 33
Structural Engineer Miyamoto International Inc.
MEP engineer McParlane & Associates Inc.
electrical engineer Michael Wall Engineering
Project manager B&G Consultants
At 198,000 square feet, this latest addition to the UC San Diego campus is one of the university’s first P3 projects. The $68 million facility includes five levels of flexible core and space for life sciences, laboratories and research, supported by a ground floor cafe, extensive landscaping and four levels of above and below grade parking. A modern, high-performance facade is defined by a cast-in-place white concrete frame, paneled finishes and a unified window system.
Photo by Dave Pino
With more than 110,000 square feet of leasable space and 13-foot high ceilings, the building offers maximum flexibility for the university’s evolving program needs. But both the scale of the project and its tight urban location required meticulous planning and sequencing to navigate limited staging areas and complex logistics. And given the site’s poor soil conditions and proximity to city easements and utilities, the team designed and built an extra-thick 54-in. mat foundation, which allowed for an additional level of below-grade parking and avoided costly over-excavation.
Photo by Dave Pino
Large-scale in-situ models helped ensure the finish of the exposed architectural concrete elements. The project team also developed specialist concrete mixes, including a high cement replacement mix with 60% slag, to achieve the desired Class A finishes as cast. Many of these elements required varied mixtures, each with potential for color variation. To maintain a clean, modern design, the team modeled and sequenced construction to avoid visible joints, favoring hidden key joints. The team also used double-bladed and bolted shapes to minimize hardware marks and ensure tightness. The use of concrete as a building finish not only achieved a high-quality modern aesthetic, but also reduced long-term maintenance and life cycle costs. Passive sustainable strategies such as sunshades and facade orientation were also seamlessly integrated, helping to support the project’s LEED Silver goal.
Photo by Dave Pino
Given the project’s dense urban location, surrounding active streets, and proximity to neighboring properties, the contractor implemented a project-specific safety plan that included comprehensive site orientations, daily task planning, and toolbox talks. Particular attention was paid to high-risk activities such as extensive self-executing concrete work and deep bush foundation excavation. This included improved fall protection, bracing systems and real-time monitoring of adjacent structures and utilities to prevent incidents.
