University of California Santa Barbara | Interactive Learning Pavilion

The Interactive Learning Pavilion (ILP) at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) is the first building on the campus consisting purely of instructional classrooms since 1967. The ILP provides a variety of teaching environments and addresses the campus's need for more learning spaces. The new spaces contribute approximately 2,000 new classroom seats to the campus.

Two large structures connected by a central open-air corridor encompass four active learning classrooms, three lecture halls, and over 20 flexible classrooms and study spaces. The design of the ILP champions natural light and ventilation in the building, creating inviting outdoor study and gathering areas and integrating the building into the surrounding environment. 

The LEED Gold-certified building showcases its commitment to environmental sustainability. We designed a fully electric building to support the campus’s decarbonization goals. Lecture halls were designed with underfloor displacement ventilation to enhance energy performance and air quality, while smaller classrooms used more conventional variable air volume reheat systems. 

The building's heating systems, both for space heating and domestic hot water, use heat pump systems that reclaim waste energy from the campus chilled water return loop. This provides high–efficiency heating for the building and improves the performance of the campus cooling systems at the same time. We were able to tailor the systems to handle variable loads and ensure optimal performance under different operating conditions.