Feb 22, 2011 - Claremont, Calif. -

The Harvey Mudd College Board of Trustees voted Jan. 29 in favor of proceeding with the construction of the teaching and learning building. It will be the first teaching and learning space to be erected on campus since the Olin Science Center was built in 1993.

The building is destined to transform the student and faculty experience at HMC and will serve as a catalyst for innovation and the development of future leaders in science and technology. At a cost of $43 million, the building will replace classrooms built in 1960 (the Thomas-Garrett building) and will contain nearly 70,000 square feet of flexible spaces, supporting a range of pedagogies and doubling the College’s current teaching and learning areas.

Designed as the new focal point of campus, the building will contain public spaces, classrooms and offices and will offer formal and informal learning spaces to encourage student and faculty interaction—a hallmark of the HMC experience.

The modern structure is being designed by Boora Architects as a highly sustainable building (planned LEED Gold certification, and possible LEED Platinum). The building plans meet the criteria of the President’s Climate Commitment signed by President Klawe in 2008, which requires that all new campus construction meets at least the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standard or equivalent. Green aspects planned for the structure include an innovative “bubble deck” structural system (the first of its kind in the United States), extensive day-lighting with sun shades and light shelves, an exterior façade of durable, energy-efficient metal shingle, and rooftop terraces pre-wired for the future installation of photovoltaic solar panels to help meet the building’s energy needs.

More information about the new teaching and learning building will be available soon on a special website featuring architectural plans, a gallery of renderings, sustainability measures, goals for building use and more.