Foothill College Physical Sciences and Engineering Center (PSEC), Los Altos Hills
This 7.3-acre project, which expands an architecturally significant campus built in 1961, incorporates campus vernacular design while introducing new materials, forms and contemporary technologies. The new building is organized around a traditional courtyard with three uniquely finished pavilions: a single-story commons to the east, a one-story classroom building to the north and a two-story laboratory building to the south. In addition to the demands of working on an operating campus, the project team discovered underground water and unsuitable soil, requiring prompt overexcavating before new utilities could be placed in a concrete slurry.