On February 27, MiraCosta Community College District and MiraCosta College in Oceanside, California, held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the construction of its new Media Arts Complex. The design-build team of HMC Architects + Balfour Beatty, faculty, staff, and community leaders attended the event for the $25.9 million, 10,471 SF facility.

The complex will serve as the campus’s arts hub and support the school’s degree programs in art history, photography, film, museum studies, studio arts, graphic design, and digital media. It features a new, museum-quality art gallery, media arts lab, a classroom for 40 students, studying and collaboration spaces, an enhanced outdoor quad, and several dedicated areas for displaying artwork. To create a healthy building environment that improves student well-being and productivity, the building incorporates “green” design elements such as extensive daylighting, high-efficiency fixtures, eco-friendly finishes, and native and low-water use landscaping.