UC Riverside’s Student Success Center has won another top award for its design from a national industry group.

The Design Build Institute of America recognized the new campus building with an award for excellence in its educational facilities category. The project had been previously honored in August from the Western regional division of the group, and as a result was advanced for consideration to the national group, which is made up of industry experts who select projects that represent the best in design-build.

The Student Success Center has already become a busy hub of student activity since opening in fall 2021. The three-story, 62,000-square-foot building includes a mix of classrooms, small- to large-sized lecture halls, multipurpose rooms, student study areas, meeting rooms, and a student lounge. Students enter the building into an airy, daylit atrium called the Paseo. It also features the campus’ first in-the-round lecture hall, which seats 400. 

“As the first new classroom building constructed on campus in many decades, the Student Success Center is a transformative project,” said Jacqueline Norman, the campus architect. “Truly a student focused and flexible building, it is a home base for students during their days on campus.”

In its description, the Design Build Institute of America notes that the building serves as a gateway building, located next to the Carillon and Arts malls, and the design makes it a “cornerstone and beacon of academic life on campus.”

“The benefits of design-build drove the successful outcome, delivering many improvements while remaining on budget despite the COVID-19 pandemic as well as significant cost escalations,” the group stated. “This project has achieved the university’s vision to enhance students’ daily experience throughout their entire education experience — from their first visit to campus to graduation day.”

The project was overseen by UCR’s Office of Planning, Design and Construction. The construction firm Swinerton built the project and the architecture firm Gensler completed the design.