C.W. Driver Companies broke ground this week on the construction of a four-story classroom building at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). The $78 million 95,000-square-foot project includes approximately 2,000 seats which will house a variety of lecture halls, project-based learning spaces and flexible discussion rooms. The LMN Architects-designed project is expected to complete in winter 2022.

The building will be comprised of 32 classrooms and lecture halls, each seating between 30 and 350 students. Other key additions include 1,700 bicycle parking spaces. Views from upper-level classrooms will connect building occupants to Pardall Mall to the west, Library Mall to the north and the ocean to the south.

“We were charged with creating a new classroom building that will be a major hub of educational activity within the campus core,” said Tom Jones, project executive at C.W. Driver Companies. “Leveraging our expertise in higher education, we recognize the need to create a dynamic environment that not only emphasizes academic inquiry for students, but also fosters interpersonal connections that inspire scholarly ambition, creativity and discoveries with a wide-ranging impact.”