Santa Clara building wins design award

By ALEXANDRA TIEU

Santa Clara's Arts and Sciences building won the "Outstanding Design Award," an honor awarded by the American School and University magazine.Schools across the nation participated in the competition. With more than 200 projects submitted to the post secondary school category of the competition, Santa Clara was one of 38 schools to receive the recognition.

The $10 million building, which was opened for classes in January 1999, was featured in the November 1999 edition of the American School and University magazine. Building designer Peter Saitta is satisfied with the outcome.

"One of the most important things to remember about the building is that it is the gateway of the campus," Saitta said. "It acts as an ambassador from the university to the rest of the world." Students and faculty who frequent the building notice its appealing traits.

"The building is very welcoming to students because it is very bright and there are tables everywhere so you can sit down to study or hang out," junior Marie Jorolan said.

According to Saitta the brilliance of the building was not accidental.

"I wanted to make the building bright so that it wouldn't look like an office building," Saitta said. "So, if you notice, there are windows at the end of all the corridors in the building."

American School and University magazine praises the design of the building in an article featuring the winning schools.

"The building successfully captures the historic character of the existing campus and it's 'California Missions' heritage, while it accommodates technology and program functions that will allow the building to function effectively well into the 21st century," the article read.

Paul Soukup SJ, communication professor and member of the design committee, agrees that the building blends in nicely with the rest of the historical campus.

He also explains where some of the ideas originated.

"After returning from a trip to Rome, Father Locatelli SJ, was the one who suggested the tiles that you see placed around the building," Soukup said.

Saitta, who was born in Rome, was familiar with such tiles, and designed it accordingly."Locatelli has an excellent sense of how architecture works," Saitta said.

In addition to capturing history and inspiring the future, parts of the building are dedicated to the mothers of Saitta and Soukup, who passed away during the construction of the building.

"You can call this building my masterpiece, and my mother never lived to see it completed," Saitta said.

The dedication to Luisa D. Saitta can be found on a large tile above the south entrance of the building facing the mission. The Soukup family dedicated a memorial garden to their mother, Jeanette R. Soukup, which can be found behind the building.

"My mother always liked gardening so the family thought that this would be the best thing to do for her," Soukup said.

According to Saitta, future plans for the building include a plaza with a fountain in front of the building to give it an even more inviting look.