UC San Diego’s Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood has earned a 2026 National Award of Merit in the Educational Facilities category from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA). The award recognizes the work of UC San Diego and its design-build team, led by Hensel Phelps, with EYRC Architects and HMC Architects.
Kristina Singiser, HMC managing principal, is in Cleveland this week for DBIA’s Design-Build Conference & Expo, where the institute is honoring this year’s winners at its November 5 awards ceremony.
At more than $550 million, the 972,000-square-foot neighborhood is one of UC San Diego’s largest capital investments. It adds approximately 2,400 below-market-rate undergraduate beds and provides Thurgood Marshall College and the Department of Economics with a new home. Classrooms, dining, outdoor gathering spaces, and the university’s Basic Needs Center bring academic life and student resources within a short walk of the residence halls.
Delivering a neighborhood of this scale on an active campus meant keeping pedestrian routes open during construction and having the residence halls ready for fall 2025 move-in. DBIA highlighted how early input from trade partners helped the team develop a façade system that halved formwork requirements while meeting the university’s design standards. By phasing design and construction, the team opened the residence halls in time for students to move in.
Congratulations to UC San Diego, Hensel Phelps, EYRC Architects, and all the design and trade partners who helped bring this neighborhood to life.
