San Diego, California
The University of California, San Diego, is rolling out multiple living-learning neighborhoods with residential colleges prioritizing an enhanced student experience, community building, and interdisciplinary study and research. Each college and neighborhood will create an immediate support network for students and a larger support network for the campus that connects students, faculty, and staff with each other and the university's mission. The latest residential college, Eighth College, opened in August 2023 and provides housing for almost 2,000 students. It is situated within the Theater District Living and Learning Neighborhood that sits next to the La Jolla Playhouse.
Eighth College comprises five residential halls: Podemos, Sankofa, Pulse, Survivance, and Azad. Podemos opened in August 2023, and Sankofa opened in early 2024. Pulse, Survivance, and Azad opened in August 2024. Each hall was given a unique name that ties into Eighth College’s mission and values, and the development of each name was a highly collaborative campus effort that included input from faculty, staff, and students.
Podemos is Spanish for “we can,” a name that will remind students that “we are able.” The hall offers apartment-style housing for almost 350 students in apartments that were designed to house 9–12 students in each. The hall has 16 floors, and the first two provide space for academic offices and classrooms. Residents here can enjoy many study spaces and laundry facilities. Podemos is also home to the office of the college’s inaugural provost, Angela Booker. The theme of Eighth College is “Engagement and Community,” and Booker, alongside provosts and staff from the other colleges, is building a curriculum around that.
According to Eighth College’s webpage, the name of Sankofa residence hall “loosely translates from Twi as ‘to go back and get’ . . . learning from the past to inform the future.” This hall has 21 floors and can house about 700 students in traditional or apartment-style living options. Residents can also enjoy study lounges, laundry facilities, community kitchens, and indoor bike racks.
The name of Azad residence hall was chosen because the word means “freedom” in several cultures: Persian, Hindi, Bengali, and Kurdish. This hall offers traditional and apartment-style living options for around 200 students. It is nine stories tall and shares adjacent outdoor space with Sankofa and Pulse halls, which includes Eighth College’s Zen Garden, the Meditation Pavilion, and a tea house. Residents also enjoy several community kitchens, study spaces, and laundry facilities.
The residence hall that is home for students identifying with LGBTIA+ and intersectional communities was named Pulse Hall because it represents the idea that a shared heartbeat or rhythm can thread communities together. It is 10 stories high and offers both traditional and apartment-style living options for about 400 students. Residents can enjoy a fitness center and a rooftop deck along with the same amenities included in the other halls: study spaces, community kitchens, and laundry facilities.
According to the website, the Survivance residence hall “represents the idea of going beyond survival towards thriving” and acknowledges the Native Americans who once lived in the area, the Kumeyaay Nation. The term was created by academicians to honor the expression of survival and resistance found in Native American communities, and it fits with part of Eighth College’s mission and culture, which is an invitation to a conversation. This hall has 11 stories and offers both traditional and apartment-style living options for almost 400 students. The first floor provides space for offices, the third through tenth floors are residential, and the eleventh floor has a conference center for Eighth College. It offers the same amenities as the other halls: study spaces, community kitchens, and laundry facilities.
While building community is important to UC San Diego’s campus, so is building green. All new buildings are certified Gold or higher according to LEED standards. Within the Theater District Living and Learning Neighborhood, the park-like pathway that winds around the buildings and through the outdoor green space is called “The Ramble.” This path not only gives students access to relaxing greenspace, but it was built to create a natural stormwater runoff system. They were able to integrate native and adaptive plants into the design, and the 200 new trees that were planted will prevent the runoff of 65,000 gallons of stormwater annually and sequester more than 46 tons of carbon dioxide over the next 20 years.
Overall, this new neighborhood has approximately 281,500 square feet dedicated to outdoor spaces, which includes the Meditation Pavilion and the tea house. Features like this are favorites of Hemlata Jhaveri, the senior associate vice chancellor for residential, retail and supply chain services, as they provide places for students to decompress and unwind. “All students have equal access to the community spaces and study lounges in the Theater District Living and Learning Neighborhood, which also boasts amazing views of the Pacific Ocean and campus.”
LeRoy Ford, director of residence life and associate dean of student affairs for Eighth College, acknowledges the importance of this neighborhood in creating a sense of community for the residents. “The Theater District Living and Learning Neighborhood was intentionally designed to encourage community engagement which we hope will contribute to a vibrant community for our residents and students.” And it sounds like they are on track with their community building, as one student noted. “One of my favorite things about being in this building is all the space that we have in all of the common areas. I feel like it fits so well with Eighth College and our mission to community-build and to create those community spaces.” Ford agrees with this assessment. “We can't wait to see the community continue to grow and develop together!” —Camille Perlman
Spotlight is your chance to show off recent construction or renovation projects. Member institutions and architects are encouraged to share details about hall features, related programs, and how they connect to the overall housing mission as well as photographs of the completed building. Share your success stories.