>Design Underway for Allied Health building at Mesa College in San Diego
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Design Underway for Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker- designed Allied Health building at Mesa College in San Diego

The three-story building will incorporate a variety of uses including a computer lab, classrooms, a clinical dental lab, a physical therapy lab, a medical lab, and offices.

San Diego, California (July 9, 2007) -- Design is underway for a new 49,000-square-foot building at San Diego Mesa College located at 7250 Mesa College Drive, in the Clairemont area of San Diego, Calif. San Diego-based Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker was commissioned by the San Diego Community College District to provide full architectural services for the $16.3 million project.

The scope of work for Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker includes programming, full design and construction administration services. Construction Manager Richard Burkhart is providing oversight on behalf of the San Diego Community College District.

The three-story building will incorporate a variety of uses including a computer lab, classrooms, a clinical dental lab, a physical therapy lab, a medical lab, and faculty and staff offices. The building, located outside of the main campus boundary and adjacent to the main campus entry, will serve as a prominent landmark for the college.

Because the building site is significantly compact, a three-story building layout was necessary to accommodate all of the uses required by the faculty, staff and students. This made it paramount in the exterior design to reduce the vertical emphasis of the tall building by incorporating multiple horizontal design elements such as a continuous ribbon window curtain wall system with integral horizontal window eyebrows that also play a significant role in shading the glass and reducing the amount of internal solar gain inside the building.

Another important design element is the introduction of stone cladding on the more powerful vertical elements such as stairs and entry areas. This will be the first building on the campus to use stone elements on the exterior.

With respect to the interior space planning and design, the building is organized around a large two-story atrium lobby that ties the main vertical circulation spaces (stairs and elevators) together, thus providing a simple and easily learned circulation pattern for access between floors. Horizontal circulation on all floors is centered on the building core area, which includes restrooms and building support spaces. The faculty and administration offices are located on the third floor, independent from the more public classroom and lab areas, and can be secured from the rest of the building if desired.

Construction for the project is slated to begin in April 2008, with completion scheduled for August 2009.
Paul Schroeder AIA is serving as principal-in-charge for Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker. The firm’s project team includes project architect Doug Paterson AIA, and Kerry Ringle Associate AIA, Alison Morita Associate AIA, and Javier Nava serving as the technical staff.

Project team consultants include Hope Engineering for structural engineering, RBF Consulting for civil engineering, and TKG Consulting Engineers, Inc., for mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering. Wimmer Yamada & Caughey is the project team’s landscape architect, and Churchill Engineering, Inc. is the code consultant. URS Corp is serving as the construction manager for the owner.

Founded in 1961, Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker is an award-winning architecture, planning and interior design firm. Recently, the firm was recognized as the 14th fastest-growing A/E/P firm in the country (according to the Zweig Letter Hot Firm 2005 List), and received the American Institute of Architects San Diego Chapter "Distinguished Service by a Member Firm" award in both 2005 and 2006. The firm's commissions include advanced technology, life science and research projects, civic, educational, exhibit, hospitality and military facilities. Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker employs a staff of 60-plus in offices located at 2265 India Street, San Diego, Calif.

More information about the company can be found at www.a-dwrb.com.

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