Incorporating more than 2600 students in 358 apartments, Southwest Campus Apartments translates the Mission Revival tradition of Los Angeles’ Westwood and Brentwood areas to sensitively allow a dense grouping of three new mid-rise buildings on UCLA’s campus. The heart of the project is Warren Plaza: a series of interlinking courtyards, arcades, and paseos, including a 7,500 SF multipurpose room with a kitchen. The area serves as a nexus of student life and as a companion to the larger neighborhood and surrounding urban fabric.

The project replaced several outdated classroom and apartment spaces. By connecting to the existing student housing spaces further south, the Southwest Apartments provide enhanced student access to and from the main campus. The two and four-bedroom units are also uniquely able to flex between graduates and undergraduates with a simple furniture change. The ability to mix and match depending on enrollment needs allows the University to respond to changing times and new demands.

A relatively tight site surface area combined with a considerable project height created some unique challenges for surveying site progress. PCL utilized a variety of technological innovations including drones, 4D tower crane-mounted 360-degree cameras, and C-Below subsurface imaging to provide extant progress photos to the client. Drones continually calibrated survey data. 4D tower crane cameras were used to review field conditions by accessing a live 360-degree field of vision progress data. And C-Below subsurface imaging located existing underground utilities to be secured.

Site Logistics was also challenging due to the tight space. The solution called for a more traditional approach. To manage and coordinate all deliveries, including material and concrete deliveries, PCL hired a full-time flagger team to watch the gates, direct traffic and assist pedestrians safely and efficiently.