IRVINE, CA—Universities often want their new structure to adopt the same style as the existing buildings while still looking like a new facility—a tough task for architects on these projects, Snyder Langston's EVP Jason Rich tells GlobeSt.com. The builder will complete construction of the Music, Worship & Theology building at Concordia University Irvine, and the university has also secured global architectural acoustic consulting firm Walters-Storyk Design Group of New York to design the building's professional recording studio.

The MWT building—the first building in CUI's Master Plan—will serve as the “intersection of musical tradition and theological foundation, values core to the Lutheran faith,” according to a prepared statement. The 1,110-square-foot recording studio will be used as a recording, teaching, and rehearsal space.

In addition, Snyder Langston has been hired to renovate Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA, for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. The project will include a full build-out of the lower level, structural upgrades, new finishes on the worship level and new site work around the cathedral.

We spoke with Rich about how to approach the construction of specialized buildings like these projects and how universities are changing their view on the construction of these buildings.

Concordia University Irvine's MWT building rendering

GlobeSt.com: What is the best way to approach the construction of specialized buildings like the Concordia MWT building with professional recording studio or the new Christ Cathedral you are working on?

Rich: The best way to approach specialized projects like these is to bring in the builder early to set expectations as a group and collaborate together through a process of developing an achievable budget for the design. This makes the project run vastly different than designing it and sending it out to bid. Both the Christ Cathedral and Concordia projects were set up in this manner and it allowed those clients to achieve their budgets, the design and technical elements required for their programs.

GlobeSt.com: How are universities changing their approach to buildings with a specific purpose to make them more aesthetically appealing and multi-functional?

Rich: When it comes to aesthetic appeal, the main challenge we see for universities is wanting their new structure to adopt the same architectural style as the existing family of buildings while still looking like a new facility. That is a tough task for architects on these projects.

One reason why multi-functional university buildings are gaining popularity is because they allow cost savings from the traditional approach of separate buildings for each specific function. For example, the Music, Worship and Theology building for Concordia University Irvine will house both the Theology and Music departments and will offer a recording studio, rehearsal halls, classrooms, faculty offices, a library and more.

GlobeSt.com: What consideration are universities giving to the look of these buildings as a way to attract students and professors, as well as donors?

Rich: We are seeing campus trends mimicking what is happening in the urban commercial space. Mixed-use is such a hot building type right now, with residential structures offering retail and office space. Similarly, campuses want more and more offered in one building. This means more residential halls are offering services like fitness facilities, dining areas, cozy study rooms, etc., so students have more of what they need within one building.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about constructing specialized buildings?

Rich: Every project has safety concerns specific to that undertaking, but on specialized projects like these, safety protocols become especially important. On Christ Cathedral, for example, scaffolding is a huge component of the project and will be in place for about one year. This scaffolding is being used to clean and paint the roof and wall trusses, to install fire sprinklers and new lighting and to install a metal panel cladding (quatrefoils) over the trusses. Due to the uniqueness of this, we require that any trade partners who go up on it complete a special safety orientation in advance. Procedures such as this one ensure that the safety challenges associated with these projects are successfully addressed.

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Approaching Specialized University-Building Design

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