+ UCSD Academic Mall
Neil Hadley While at SPLA | San Diego, California+

SPLA collaborated with COArchitects on the new Pharmacy School and Auditorium in the School of Medicine neighborhood at UCSD. Prior to starting the design for the Pharmacy School, which was the first of four buildings planned for the Academic Mall, the site planning predicated the need for updating the School of Medicine (SOM) Master plan and design guidelines for the Academic Mall. This master plan update provided direction for site planning issues which affected the design of the future buildings including; fire access, grading, ADA access, planting, hardscape, site lighting and servicing. This ensured the overall concept for the Academic Mall, which was to create a space for interaction and meeting for all of the medical research facilities, would be realized.

The project features an underground auditorium with a large green roof and sunken courtyard. The building and auditorium were opened in Fall, 2006.