Executive Summary

Purpose
The purpose of this document is to reevaluate the planning concepts of the original 1990 Warren College Neighborhood Planning Study as they apply to future development within the Study Area.  UCSD's academic program for the college has changed substantively since 1990.  Most significantly, the Physics Department will not move to Warren College as was assumed in the 1990 study, while the Jacobs School of Engineering anticipates growth beyond what was projected in 1990.  Also, the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of study has changed the functional relationships of buildings and facilities within the Jacobs School of Engineering.  The 1999 update accomodates these changes in the academic program.  In addition, although it retains many of the major concepts from the 1990 study, it also proposes certain new planning concepts for the Study Area.

Context
Study Area: The Study Area includes approximately 6.5 acres of open space and surface parking north of Warren Mall between EBU 1 and EBU 2.  The Study Area's northern boundary is Voigt Drive, and the northwestern boundary is established by the rustic canyons and eucalyptus groves of the UCSD Park.  The area is currently occupied by parking lot #503 and Pryatel Field, a multi-purpose recreational field that is to be replaced by new fields in the nearby area currently occupied by Warren Track.  The 1999 Update focuses on coordinating the build-out of the Study Area and defining a development strategy that will be sensitive to the natural and built environment of the site.

Concept
The original 1990 planning concepts for the Study Area were reevaluated in terms of site allocation, massing, orientation, and boundary treatments.  The two distinct grid systems of Warren College were further explored for opportunities to create new types of spaces and connections.  Instead of maintaining a strit separation of the forces implied by the two grid systems, the orthogonal and diagonal grid systems were combined within the Study Area to create a new Academic Courtyard shared by the new engineering buildings planned for the area.  This open space will become the center of the Jacobs School of Engineering facilities in the Warren College Neighborhood and an improtant connection node between the Warren College residential buildings and Warren Mall.

Elements
Land Use:  Four new engineering buildings are planned for the 1999 Study Area: 

• EBU 3A with 63,000 ASF for bioengineering research laboratories and classrooms
• EBU 3B with a total of 87,000 ASF - 77,000 ASF for computer engineering laboratories and classrooms and 10,000 ASF for the Warren College Provost office
• EBU 4A with 28,000 ASF for San Diego Supercomputer Center annex space, computer engineering space and, potentially, space for certain Natural Sciences Division programs with programmatic connections to the Supercomputer Center
• EBU 4B with 100,000 ASF

Note that the 1999 Update also retains an expansion site east of EBU 2 that has a building capacity of approximately 15,000 ASF.

Design Guidelines
The original 1990 design guidelines provide the framework for the 1999 Update design guidelines.  Recommendations for building materials are preserved from the original study.  The concept of building fracture zones is also retained, with particular emphasis that buildings on Voigt Drive respond appropriately to the adjacent Warren housing facilities.  New recommendations are included that are specific to the Study Area and the proposed Academic Courtyard.  This courtyard should provide a delineated space for gathering while allowing free movement between Warren Mall and the Warren housing district.  New architectural guidelines focus on the design intent of the new engineering buildings.  Particularly from within the courtyard, coherence and visual harmony need to be achieved through use of materials and architectural articulation.

Implementation
Implementation of the 1999 Update is expected to occur over approximately the next ten years.  The first proposed building for the site (EBU 3A: Bioengineering) is in its early design phase, and the second building (EBU 3B: Computer Science and Engineering) is currently in its programming phase.  The success of the site development will depend greatly on the design and implementation of the Academic Courtyard.  It is strongly recommended that the courtyard be designed and constructed in the earliest phase of site development.  It is also recommended that the Warren Mall be completed as soon as posible.