Cal State Long Beach Opens Student Success Center
In March, Cal State Long Beach held a grand opening ceremony for the Student Success Center. The 81,600-square-foot renovation greatly improves the faculty’s ability to provide students with a wide range of services. The building houses departmental programs like Disabled Student Services, Undergraduate Advising, and Writing Labs that assist students in earning
their degrees. The basement also features new state-of-the-art science labs.
Originally known as Peterson Hall 2, the former science building was designed and built in 1959. Over the last 60 years, a revolution in science, technology, and building standards greatly diminished its education value. The most impressive part of the project are the open-space science teaching laboratories. Connected by a central corridor, they include several different technical laboratory spaces including anatomy, forensics, and acute care simulation labs.
Strict ventilation standards, health and safety requirements, and constant research activities cause the lab to use significantly more water and energy per square foot than a typical office building. These intensive energy requirements prompted energy efficiency as a fundamental goal for this building. Our team focused on delivering an extremely efficient building while maintaining high safety, health, and comfort standards for building occupants. We successfully accomplished this by implementing a 50% water reduction to building, which was certified LEED® Gold.
Our team is proud of the complete transformation we created with this complex renovation. When compared to the original building, it really looks like a new building.