Construction is moving forward on Gateway, the future home for UC Berkeley’s first new college in over half a century. The College of Computing, Data Science, and Society, or CDSS, will occupy the new structure on the northwest edge of the parcel. Weiss/Manfredi is responsible for the design.
UC Berkeley’s Gateway Building rooftop deck looking toward the Campanile, rendering by Weiss Manfredi
UC Berkeley’s Gateway Building south courtyard, rendering by Weiss Manfredi
The project was designed by New York-based Weiss/Manfredi, with Gensler acting as the executive architect. Illustrations show the S-shaped structure lives up to its name, with two ground-level access points bridged together on higher floors above a pathway that connects the Northside neighborhood with the campus. The predominately glass-skinned structure conforms to the sweeping central, bringing natural light into the large atrium and gathering spaces.
UC Berkeley’s Gateway garden atrium, rendering by Weiss Manfredi
WM describes the future structure as “ both a physical Gateway: the focal point at the north edge of campus to welcome community, and an intellectual Gateway: the expansive connector between diverse voices, perspectives, and disciplines.” The 367,000-square-foot facility will have a capacity for 1,325 facility, students, researchers, and staff. The school says the project will be a model for novel and flexible approaches to education, working, and socializing. The building’s interior landscape is designed to encourage interacting and exploring.
UC Regents officially created the new college with a vote on May 18th this year. Before that, CDSS was initially launched in 2019 as a division, sharing the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences with the College of Engineering and D-Lab with the Social Sciences Division. By establishing independence, CDSS will be more effective in creating new programs and partnerships, establishing institutional knowledge, and promoting community among faculty, students, and alumni.
UC Berkeley’s Gateway Building classroom interior, rendering by Weiss Manfredi
UC Berkeley’s Gateway Building robotics laboratory, rendering by Weiss Manfredi
UC Berkeley’s Gateway site map, illustration via UC Regents press release
According to a press release by the school, “the college includes the Data Science Undergraduate Studies program, the Department of Statistics, the Berkeley Institute for Data Science, the Center for Computational Biology and the Bakar Institute of Digital Materials for the Planet.”
Construction is estimated to cost around $550 million, with the facilities opening in time for the 2025-2026 academic year. Demolition has already taken place for the Brutalist-designed Tolman Hall by Gardner Dailey between 2018 and 2019. Recent site images show excavation is underway, with foundation work to follow.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
Cannot tell from this documentation, does that sweeping parabola of the Gateway Building face south?
Two parabolas, one facing north and one facing south.
nice indoor/outdoor feel from the atrium.