Renderings: Undergraduate Academic Building
Rendering: Rooftop Plaza
Rendering: Rooftop Plaza at Night
Rendering: Large Classroom
Rendering: View from Strawberry Creek footbridge.
Rendering: View from Strawberry Creek footbridge.
Rendering: Entrance Plaza
Rendering: Exterior of Auditorium
Rendering: Building Entrance
Rendering: Exterior Circulation Corridor with View of Rooftop Terrace
Rendering: View from Campanile Way Looking East
Rendering: View from Campanile Way Looking Southwest
Rendering: Informal Gathering Area
Rendering: Small Classroom
Rendering: Small Classroom
Rendering: Large Classroom
Rendering: 400-seat Auditorium
Rendering: College of Letters & Science Advising Offices
Project Background
The Undergraduate Academic Building creates a new hub for undergraduate instruction in the center of the UC Berkeley campus. Replacing a surface parking lot west of Dwinelle Hall in line with the 2022 Campus Master Plan, the facility serves as a centralized home for Letters & Science Advising, offering meeting rooms, office space, and collaboration areas. Notably, the building houses more than 10% of the general assignment classrooms on campus, transforming the undergraduate learning experience and fostering academic excellence.
The building's design has been thoughtfully planned to seamlessly blend with the natural surroundings. The Undergraduate Academic Building is an L-shaped structure featuring a five-story wing along Campanile Way and a three-story wing facing Dwinelle Hall, separated by a wide esplanade adorned with shade trees. At the intersection of the two wings is a new 400-seat auditorium that is situated partially below ground and topped with a landscaped rooftop terrace overlooking Strawberry Creek. The first three floors of both wings are dedicated to academic instruction, providing 27 new classrooms of varying sizes. These rooms utilize flexible seating arrangements to support various instructional styles and are equipped with modern technologies and large windows for natural light and ventilation.
All levels of the Undergraduate Academic Building are easily accessed through the main elevator core, external stairs, and wide circulation corridors. The main entrance is located on the west side of the building facing Grinnell Glade and Strawberry Creek, where a spacious outdoor plaza welcomes students and accommodates high traffic volumes during class transitions. The entrance plaza and surrounding pathways are thoughtfully landscaped, and the project further enhanced the existing landscape along Campanile Way.
The design of the Undergraduate Academic Building is focused on sustainability and resilience, most notably through the implementation of mass timber construction. This marks the first time this novel building technology has been utilized on the Berkeley campus. The use of mass timber not only supports sustainable design practices but also provides a unique aesthetic that sets the building apart from traditional steel or concrete structures.
Following a construction period that began in the summer of 2023 and reached completion in May 2026, the building will officially open for the start of the Fall 2026 semester.