Santa Monica College Center for Media and Design Campus

Clive Wilkinson Architects

Santa Monica College Center for Media and Design Campus

December 2, 2017

The Center for Media and Design is a building made from materials often associated with abstract and modern design (concrete, aluminum, and glass) to create a progressive design highlighting SMC’s dedication to student advancement. The central courtyard along with its multiple points of entry highlight the schools desire to create a “dynamic new campus” which includes “advanced and collaborative spaces.” Its interior study rooms and tables, large enough for group projects, further demonstrate the importance and dedication to these ideals in the creation of the campus.

SMC’s CMD campus shares its association with progression yet also shares common features and motifs which are associated with ancient Roman design. The designer company, Clive Wilkinson Architects, in partnership with SMC worked to create a building which shares common values with those of the ancient Roman empire’s design.

The CMD campus consists of two buildings with bright yellow highlights throughout the building. The campus's main feature is its triangular shape.The form that the two buildings make is a very beautiful right triangle. There is a square between the two buildings, and a large building in the north has classrooms, student lounges and faculty offices. The small building on the south is composed of facilities such as KCRW radio station, performance studio, technical operations center and a photography gallery.

Deanna Gutierrez, Alexander Leon, Jordan Odom, Brandon Perry, Oliver Knox, Phillip Kabilka, Taegwon Park, Annabelle Mcveigh, Carlos Rivas, Esmeralda Banuelos Luna, Joshua Moreno

Despite being a space focused on progression of education in a modern world, it still maintains many connections to historically significant buildings of similar intent. SMC’s new campus includes many aspects which are prominent in Roman design. Taking a look at the Market of Trajan, we can see a clear resemblance in the use of an open an communal space with buildings surrounding it and multiple points of entry. This constant nonlinear flow of people is resemblant of the chaos that is modern progression. This same symbolic representation of progression is evident on the coast of Naples, Italy. Pompeii, like the CMD campus, is a symbol of progression. It served as both a vacation spot for the wealth monarchs and a major trade port for the Roman empire. It included many communal spaces which had multiple points of entry. Most of these communal spaces were for trading live seafood. Despite being a place of education, SMC’s CMD campus shares the element of trade. Although students aren’t trading goods, trading is just as valuable in a place which signifies advancement.