Westmont Magazine The Focus of Construction Moves Indoors

While Workers Continue to Finish the Exteriors of Adams Center and Winter Hall, Most Work Now Takes Place Inside

Classrooms, faculty offices, and student lounges and learning areas are emerging from the shells of Adams Center for the Visual Arts and Winter Hall for Science and Mathematics as construction continues. Crews are painting interior walls and installing wiring, lighting fixtures, plumbing and tile.

Tucked into the natural contour of the sloping hillside, the buildings offer panoramic ocean views from outdoor patios, which will evolve into terraces surrounded by plants. “The landscaping will go to the edge, giving the illusion you’re in a garden rather than a building,” says Randy Jones, director of campus planning. A nursery in Nipomo is cultivating succulents and other native vegetation for the patios and roofs.

The western side of Adams Center features an outdoor studio and area for crafts. Classrooms will be equipped with hanging doors that can open when weather permits, bringing in the outdoors and offering unobstructed views (bottom right).

Sunshine pours through an oval hole in the center of Winter Hall (right), illuminating a staircase that flows in space, accessing the various floors. Glass walls and doors leading to outdoor patios allow more natural light into the building. “We designed the buildings to use as much natural light and ventilation as possible because it’s better for learning and studying,” Jones says.

Several general-use classrooms surround the center of Winter Hall, with smaller seminar and other rooms designed for specific disciplines on the perimeter. “That way a history major can take classes in the new building and expand their learning to other disciplines,” Jones says.