Mission Viejo, California, USA
Located in Mission Viejo, California, the new Computer Science and Math Building at Saddleback College designed by Matt Austin of HGA Architects & Engineers is a contemporary campus facility that upon completion will feature active learning labs, a collaboration resource center, faculty pods, a lecture hall, and office space across three stories.
This reconstruction advances the flagship Computer Science and STEM programs, providing a career-focused platform for industry educators and experts to engage future professionals in their fields.
The three-story building includes active learning labs, a collaboration resource center, faculty pods, and community spaces.
The new Science and Math Building of the Saddleback College has recently been awarded a 2022 American Architecture Award Honorable Mention, by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Special STEM-focused areas include a cybersecurity lab and server featured on the first floor that places engineering on display, as well as the “cloud room”, named for the periscope oculus window that offers a quiet study retreat.
HGA’s holistic design approach led to a series of work sessions with college leadership, faculty, and student representatives to learn from those who would be using the space.
The team then formed a comprehensive plan to connect the new building with the South campus through architecture, programming, landscape, and movement.
The façade features a stepped composition of three glass pavilions that compliments the campus’s unique hillside topography on all three levels, creating an iconic exterior image for the new building.
The landscape design includes a pedestrian bridge and outdoor plaza with native flora, comprised of drought-resistant plant varieties.
An outdoor amphitheater is tucked into the hillside, rising toward the second level of the building.
Above it all, a green roof conserves energy and also features rooftop terraces.
Expansive windows allow a connection between indoor and outdoor experiences, flooding light into the space.
Project: Saddleback College, Science and Math Building
Architects: HGA Architects & Engineers
Lead Architect: Matt Austin
Client: South Orange County Community College District
Renderings: HGA
