Back to Projects List University of San Diego –Student Life Pavilion, San Diego, CA Overview: The challenge was rooted in a contradiction: design a state-of-the-art student union in a new 16th century Spanish Renaissance envelope. The USD campus while constructed in the 1950s is unique in that it is entirely based on a historic antecedent. The architects were asked to renovate the Hahn Center [75,000-sf] and add a new compatible 76,000-sf Student Life Pavilion including a grand dining hall, health-food market, student offices, game room and lounges. The solution engages a difficult steep site with a central courtyard that acts as a natural chimney to cool the entire building, which was instrumental in achieving a LEED Gold certificate.. Size: 151,000 sf Completion: August 2009