McCarthy Finishes Construction on Advanced Technology and Applied Sciences Building   

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. completed construction for the Advanced Technology and Applied Sciences building at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California. This effectively finishes the original scope of the three-year project set out by the college. The new facility, which opened June 2022, was completed in partnership with national architecture and design firm HED and is a 52,913-square-foot LEED Gold-Equivalent multidisciplinary space.

 

The main layout of the building connects directly to the campus pedestrian network. Once students enter from one of the facility’s two entrances, they flow directly into a central social collaboration space, like a great hall in a house. The space opens to a courtyard providing uninhibited views of the Arroyo Trabuco Canyon.

 

Flanking the courtyard, the classrooms are organized in two flexible and efficient wings, which gives lab spaces access to outdoor work areas. The landscape areas are designed as outdoor learning gardens and shared seating spaces. Sloped gardens at the east end are designed for rainwater harvesting and planted with native vegetation to provide a habitat for insects and birds. 

 

While the original plans for ATAS did not include allocation for public or communal space, the final design incorporates an outdoor courtyard and amphitheater for student socialization, which did not add cost or square footage to the project. The labs within the facility were designed to be highly adaptable to allow industry trends to be implemented into curricula as they arise.