Client: UC Irvine Student Housing
Location: 577 Brandywine Road, Irvine, CA
Architect/Contractor: Mithun w/ Hensel Phelps Construction, Fast-Track, Design/Build
Area/Size/Massing: 215,000 GSF, 2 residential towers on a mixed-use base including Housing offices
Design Started: January 2017
Completed: August 2019
Construction Cost: $96M

New living-learning community for freshmen along the central campus Ring Road. 500 student beds in a mix of unit types, 750-seat dining center, link lounge, study rooms, social lounges, resource center, smart classroom. Competition designed in collaboration with Hensel Phelps using fast-track, design-build project delivery, LEED Platinum targeted.

The Middle Earth Expansion weaves a new living-learning community into the larger campus fabric. Two residential towers rise above a mixed use podium and richly landscaped base, echoing the natural form and color of the region’s limestone canyons.

In the street-level podium, a vibrant dining center supports student wellness with fresh menus and teaching platforms. Bridging over the podium, Link Lounge is a central gathering space on each residential floor that unites the towers socially and physically. These lounges are the heart of residential life, with sweeping views to Aldrich Park and across the Middle Earth neighborhood.

Centrally located along the campus Ring Road, the gateway project preserves vistas and offers diverse pathways to access or pass through Middle Earth. Lingering is welcome along an elevated passage courtyard that connects students with the outdoors and the building’s extensive second-level academic amenities.