p>The Shared Service/Loading Facility will be located beneath the new Academic Quad (shown above) and will serve as a centralized hub for four of the 2020 Project's buildings, including the Multipurpose Dining Facility.
This below-ground planning strategy allows for a more flexible and adaptable loading program than when provided at individual buildings. By consolidating multiple buildings’ facilities, advantages in scheduling and logistics can be captured by utilizing unused bays that would otherwise be inaccessible by separated buildings. Security is also simplified by having a single point of control for service vehicles to all four buildings.
The most important benefit of this arrangement is the reduction of service vehicle traffic in locations where mixing with daily student life is undesirable. By keeping building services on a level below the main pedestrian corridor, campus life in this important hub of the University is uninterrupted 24 hours a day.
Project Details
Architect: SOM
Program: Operations
Developer: Plenary Properties Merced
Contractor: Webcor
Completion Date: Fall 2018
