Pasadena Construction Company Completes $97 Million Interactive Learning Pavilion at UC Santa Barbara

C.W. Driver Companies, a leading SoCal builder headquartered in Pasadena founded in 1919, announced it has completed construction of the four-story Interactive Learning Pavilion at UC Santa Barbara.

Located at the heart of the campus, the 95,000 square-foot facility now provides students with a new learning environment, including approximately 2,000 seats of new classroom space in five lecture halls, three classrooms for project-based learning, and 20 flexible discussion rooms. 

Each of the 32 classrooms and lecture halls can accommodate between 30 and 350 students, a C.W. Driver Companies statement said. The project also includes provisions for 1,700 new bicycle parking spaces to cater to the university’s bike culture; an estimated 14,000 students and staff commute daily by bicycle when school is in session.

Jeff Bara, Senior Project Manager at C.W. Driver Companies, said constructing a project of this magnitude required meticulous planning and management.  

“The project is located in the middle of campus and required re-routing bicycle and pedestrian lanes,” Bara said. “We also had to carefully schedule just-in-time deliveries in the early morning to avoid student traffic. Working closely with the university, we developed off-site staging areas for delivery vehicles to minimize the number of trucks on campus at any given time, reducing the impact of construction on the community.”

The design of the Interactive Learning Pavilion includes an open-air “street” space that serves as a connecting corridor between the two main buildings, the statement said. Exposed stairs and terraces allow ample sunlight and provide views of the campus, including Pardall Mall to the west, Library Mall to the north, and the ocean to the south. 

The statement added the facility has also been designated with LEED Gold Certification, aligning with the university’s commitment to sustainability. It will be powered exclusively by electricity, with no natural gas usage.

C.W. Driver Companies said the construction team working on the UC Santa Barbara project was awarded the Liberty Mutual Insurance Safety Commendation Gold Award from the University Controlled Insurance Program (UCIP) for their outstanding performance in safety. C.W. Companies worked with LMN Architects on this project.

C.W. Driver Companies also worked on other university projects in the state, including the Pomona-Pitzer College Rains Athletic Center, CSU Dominguez Hill’s Science and Innovation Building, CSU San Bernardino Coyote Village and Coyote Commons, MiraCosta College Chemistry & Biotechnology Building, and Orange Coast College’s Language Arts and Social Science Building, Kinesiology and Athletics Complex, and Student Union Complex. 

It has also been involved in construction of Mesa College’s Fine Arts Building, Chapman University’s Keck Center for Science and Engineering, Cal Poly Pomona’s Student Services Building, and Vanguard University’s Waugh Student Center.

C.W. Driver Companies, whose headquarters are at 468 N. Rosemead Blvd. in Pasadena,

offers a range of construction services, including general contracting, construction management, and design/build services. Its diverse portfolio includes projects in various industries: academic, entertainment and sports, retail, civic and cultural, commercial, office, hospitality and gaming, healthcare, residential, and senior living sectors.

For more information, visit www.cwdriver.com.