Parking Structure

The University of California, San Diego partnered with Swinerton to design-build a 6-level, post-tensioned parking structure with 1,350 parking spaces.  The structure, located off of Gilman Drive in the School of Medicine neighborhood, replaces two parking lots that used to primarily serve the Health Sciences community.  

This parking structure was built to enhance the visitor experience and provide connectivity to the surrounding campus.  With this in mind, the exterior is comprised of multilayered facade system on the Western and Southern sides that border the coveted UC San Diego Eucalyptus Grove and a more traditional parking façade on the Northern and Eastern sides that border the existing campus structures. In addition, a retaining wall was pushed back to provide natural light and ventilation throughout the structure.  Furthermore, using moment frame construction instead of a shear wall design as the seismic system created an open and airy building allowing the introduction of light wells that direct pedestrian flow. This also allowed for daylight access deep within the structure.

A pedestrian bridge leading to the Visitor Center and another bridge addressing the campus were constructed using prefabricated truss frame Cor-ten steel bridges flown into place.  Vehicle access takes advantage of the drastic sloping site and occurs on two separate levels allowing for flexibility and ease of traffic throughout the structure even during high traffic times.

Committed to sustainability, UC San Diego achieved Parksmart Silver equivalency for the project.  Sustainable elements include photovoltaic panels, bicycle parking, water efficient landscaping and high quality LED lighting design with motion sensors and photocells for energy conservation.