Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Golden West College Starts Construction on Language Arts Complex

  • By Matt Jones
  • 07/08/21

Construction on a new language arts complex recently began at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Calif. The college is partnering with Sundt Construction, Inc., on the facility.

“We are excited to continue working on the Golden West campus,” said John Messick, Sundt’s Project Director for the California District Building Group. “Building infrastructure to support remote, in-person or hybrid learning is critical to the success of today’s students.”

The new complex will measure in at 72,251 square feet and stand three stories tall, featuring classrooms and a large reading, writing and resource center. The facility will house lecture spaces for the college’s world languages, ASL, English and speech programs. Other amenities will include gathering, office and support spaces; natural daylighting fixtures; modern LED fixtures; HVAC improvements; and native landscaping.

Project architect HMC designed the complex as two wings connected by a second- and third-floor internal bridge. “Guided by the principle of ‘connection,’ we designed the building to not only connect with the campus aesthetic, but also to provide opportunities for students to connect with campus touchpoints and classmates,” said HMC Design Principal Brett Leavitt.

The HMC Architects’ website also notes that design strategies like natural daylighting and native landscaping give the complex a head start on becoming a Zero Net Energy Building.

The first step of the construction process was the demolition of the long-standing humanities building and health sciences facility. Construction is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Arlington High School

    Arlington High School

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Arlington High School has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • Higher Ed is Betting on New Buildings While Quietly Undermining Their Campuses — Here’s Why

    In this climate, the owner’s representative has changed from a delivery-focused advisor to a strategic campus partner. Institutions are increasingly relying on owner’s reps not just to manage, cope, schedule, and budget, but also help evaluate whether a project should proceed at all.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.