Dezeen School Shows: an architecture museum informed by the work of Spanish sculptor Eduardo Chillida is among the architecture projects from California Baptist University.
Also featured is a care centre for people with Alzheimer's disease and a church for communities recovering from loss.
California Baptist University
School: College of Architecture, Visual Arts and Design
Course: The Architecture Programme
Tutors: Krysten Allbeck, Ryan Chung, Susan Duemer, Aaron Greene, Keelan Kaiser, Matthew Niermann, Luis Fernando Nunez, David Ogoli, Katherine Kaford Papineau, Karim Youssef and Jacob Slagill
School statement:
"California Baptist University (CBU) architecture students design for the public good. The architecture programme at CBU prepares students to serve as design professionals rooted in the Christian faith tradition.
"This unique approach to architectural education encourages students to be inspired and guided by their faith perspective as they endeavour to serve the public good.
"The CBU architecture programme offers an accelerated five-year accredited Master of Architecture degree in the Inland Empire area of Southern California, USA, and features a variety of opportunities for interdisciplinary inquiry, professional development, global study and engagement.
"The design curriculum within the CBU architecture programme emphasises an analytical and data-driven approach to understanding the impact of architecture on human experience and the natural environment across a range of project types.
"The work in this school show represents the imagination of a plurality of questions and courses by students who, as a whole, participate in critical investigations of design, material and the ephemeral."
CalTech Recreation by Collin Zwart
"The massing strategically shields the southern elevation while opening to the north, creating a clear juxtaposition between solid and void.
"The programme is organised to showcase movement and activity, allowing the building itself to express the energy of recreation.
"Connections between the north and south athletic fields are carved through the massing, reinforcing circulation and visual continuity across the site.
"These subtractions, combined with the transparency on the north elevation, create a delicate architectural form that aligns with the goals of a recreation centre: to feel light, open and full of life."
Student: Collin Zwart
Course: ARC 515 Advanced Architecture Design
Tutor: Ryan Chung
Architecture and Policy on Equity in Elementary Schools by Allyson McCormick
"The goal of this thesis was to confront the disparities in equity levels of the existing school facilities that shape the educational infrastructure.
"By grounding this process and new prototypes in policy constraints and real-world understanding of the system of educational architecture, this project offers a viable path forward to start to lessen the disparity levels of the spatial equity between low-performing and high-performing school facilities.
"Staying rooted in the four pillars of active learning, safety and security, mental health and technology integration proves that spatial equity is achievable within elementary schools."
Student: Allyson McCormick
Course: ARC511 Masters Thesis
Tutor: Aaron Greene
Light and Dwell by Asher Raquiza
"Light and Dwell is a church designed as a place of hope and restoration for a community recovering from loss.
"Inspired by Christ's call to be a light to the world, the project centres around a shared hearth where worship, fellowship and daily life converge.
"Fragmented building forms create courtyards, pathways and moments of gathering that invite people into community and reflection.
"More than a Sunday destination, the Church is envisioned as a place where people can dwell with God and one another throughout the week."
Student: Asher Raquiza
Course: ARC 410 Sacred Space
Tutor: Jacob Slagill
Elder Care by Jose Orlando Estenoz Martiz
"The campus prioritises a beacon-based design, giving Alzheimer's residents clear, steady physical landmarks that remain familiar even on difficult days.
"At the heart of the environment rises the bell tower, a quiet anchor that restores confidence in movement and is visible throughout the campus.
"Together, domestic memory elements (hearth, kitchen, dining, views and music and art space) form a setting that preserves dignity and allows for confident dependence, creating an environment where individuals in the late stages of Alzheimer's can still feel anchored, understood and gently held."
Student: Jose Orlando Estenoz Martiz
Course: ARC 510 Advanced Architecture Studio
Tutor: Keelan Kaiser
Elder Care by Nikolas Kaiser
"This Alzheimer's elder care design is intentionally inspired by the natural assets of the existing land.
"Resident home motifs and their supporting modular care villages are projected over a subtracted volume, which reforms an existing hiking trail through the site, providing wide views of Lone Pine Canyon hills and the mountain views in the distance.
"The construction is rammed earth and timber with details expressed to convey tactility and hand-craft. The excavated earth contributes material for the rammed-earth walls.
"The project has been crafted to preserve and celebrate as much of the existing land as possible."
Student: Nikolas Kaiser
Course: ARC 510 Advance Architecture Studio
Tutor: Keelan Kaiser
Architecture Museum by Andrea Martinez
"Rooted in the principles of critical regionalism, the museum responds to climate, culture and tactile experience while fostering a strong connection to the surrounding community.
"The building's woven circulation creates moments of discovery and shifting perspectives, while a colonnade frames the historic fig tree and strengthens its relationship to the neighbouring courtyards of Balboa Park.
"Translucent alabaster panels create a luminous presence both day and night, culminating in a rooftop experience where visitors can appreciate panoramic views of Balboa Park and the city of San Diego after engaging with the museum itself."
Student: Andrea Martinez
Course: ARC 412 Integrated Design
Tutor: Luis Fernando Nunez
The Pulp by ShaRena B Steeple
"The luminous design language inside the space, playing with transparent to translucent materials like the vibrant glass block walls in the dance studio, which are inspired by the glowing interior of an orange.
"The 'peel and reveal' nature of the building allows the art of occupancy to be revealed as performance in poetic ways throughout the building."
Student: ShaRena B. Steeple
Course: ARC 312 Architecture Design
Tutor: Randall Barnett
The Ribbon Pavilion by Ricardo Vargas Silva
"Designed as a social and athletic hub for CalTech students as well as the community of Pasadena, CA.
"The project incorporates a ribbon design surrounding the building that brings the strong sense of connection of athletic events to enhance the human experience. Sustainable design strategies are employed to address climate resiliency."
Student: Ricardo Vargas Silva
Course: ARC515 Advanced Architecture Design
Tutor: Ryan Chung
The Drum by Ethan Jimenez
"The drum can be used to create a rhythm that can echo the human heartbeat. The Media Lab deconstructs the drum into its essence, revealing an impression of the heart of Leirmert Park.
"The lab provides whispers and glimpses into the importance of the interior, the people and the activities expressed through a semi-porous perimeter skin."
Student: Ethan Jimenez
Course: ARC 515 Advance Architecture Design
Tutor: Aaron Greene
Museum of Architecture by Kenneth Morales
"The rich history of Balboa Park, viewed through the lens of a parametric consideration of Critical Regionalism, resulted in this museum of architecture.
"It is both contemporary and contextual, by synthesising formal archetypes like the arches and vaulted ceilings of classical architecture found around the site with the free plan and transparency that was sought after in modernist design.
"Inspired by the work of the Spanish sculptor Eduardo Chillida and his work centred around light and shadow, sound and silence, the frozen music of the museum mimics the way material and sound give shape to space and time."
Student: Kenneth Morales
Course: ARC412 Integrated Design
Tutor: Luis Fernando Nunez
Partnership content
This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and California Baptist University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.