CSU San Bernardino Center for Global Innovation
Features & Highlights
- 71,000-square-foot, three-story classroom and office building
- LEED Platinum® certified facility
- Team worked closely with CSUSB to mitigate campus disruptions and hazards
Project Overview
The Center for Global Innovation is a 71,000-square-foot, three-story classroom and office building that serves as the new home for CSUSB’s College of Extended Learning (CEL) in the heart of campus. Academic and support spaces include active learning classrooms, reconfigurable multi-purpose rooms, two auditoriums, a 250-seat lecture hall, retail and food space, and a variety of indoor and outdoor social and learning spaces including a rooftop terrace. All of these are centered around the building’s iconic “global gallery” central atrium.
The facility gives students and faculty the option to space out more than a typical setting. They can gather in small or large groups to either socialize or study in a series of decks on every floor. And, with digital screens, writable surfaces, and flexible furniture, several options are available for group or individual use. Classrooms are located on the lower floors for easy wayfinding and campus access, and student services are on the top floor. A massive TV wall, 30 by 50 feet, was installed in the atrium as part of a largescale AV package added toward the end of the project. Also, the design also incorporates increased structural measures due to proximity to the San Andreas Fault and potential seismic activity.
Early in the planning phase, the project was relocated from the west edge to the center of campus to maximize exposure and student access, placing the site along a major pedestrian axis and adding unique logistical challenges. Sundt worked closely with the CSUSB project manager and created a plan that reworked portions of the walkway in increments, so as to not disrupt the entire walkway all at once.
The project team also mitigated noise and vibrations with consideration to sensitive buildings and scheduled around high-volume events in the academic calendar. Close coordination, detailed communication, and knowing the right questions to ask led to minimal impacts and a safer environment on a project nestled in the most populated area of the CSUSB campus.
Finished in time for the fall semester, the LEED Platinum® building boasts several green building features, including extensive use of natural lighting and ventilation, energy-efficient LED lighting with smart controls, water-efficient plumbing and energy-efficient windows.