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UC San Diego Grad Housing Claims National Design-Build Honor

By Eric Althoff

SAN DIEGO鈥擳he UC San Diego Nuevo East Graduate Student Housing has been awarded the Design-Build Institute of America鈥檚 (DBIA) National Award of Merit in the Educational Facilities category. The award recognizes such players in the project as Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering; the UCSD project represents Latitude 33鈥檚 fourth DBIA Award in five years.

UCSD鈥檚 Nuevo East Graduate Student Housing is a $220-million development encompassing 712,000 square feet of living space for 1,300 students. The complex entails five middle- and high-rise buildings with student housing options ranging from one- to four-bedroom townhouses and apartments. Another building within the complex, called the Exchange, offers study space, fitness areas and meeting rooms. On the exterior, communal gardens and public gathering areas are meant to stoke a sense of community.

Hensel Phelps served as the project鈥檚 general contractor, which realized architect Mithun鈥檚 designs in conjunction with Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering. The Nuevo East Graduate Student Housing also met the school鈥檚 sustainability goals and secured USGBC LEED Gold certification.

Latitude 33鈥檚 duties on the job included design survey, civil engineering services as well as construction support and administration.

鈥淐ongratulations to UC San Diego, Hensel Phelps, Mithun, and the entire team for developing these highly successful graduate student residences,鈥 said Kyle Boyce, Associate at Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering. 鈥淭hese homes were designed and built with meticulous intentionality鈥攊ncluding the pedestrian flow, the neighborhood connections, the spaces to facilitate resident interaction, and the sustainability initiatives, to name a few.

鈥淎s a world-class university, these homes are a fantastic addition to UC San Diego鈥檚 offerings.鈥

The DBIA National Awards recognize design-build projects that apply industry best practices. Projects must be completed within budget, on time and without any attendant litigation in order to be eligible for nomination. A panel of industry experts then judges the projects for awards consideration.