College of the Desert celebrated the grand opening of its 67,000 SF Indio Campus Expansion in Indio, California. HMC Architects, Tilden-Coil Constructors joined college representatives, school faculty and staff, and Mayor Lupe Ramos Amith to celebrate the start of the new school year with a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony.

The three-story building, combined with renovations to the existing facilities, triples the size and programming of the College of the Desert’s Indio campus. An interdisciplinary blend of instructional spaces, faculty spaces, on-site food service, student study spaces, and a wide range of campus amenities and support services will grow this satellite location into a full-service campus serving the Indio community. Instructional spaces were designed to support a modern curriculum with lecture halls, classrooms, digital lab spaces, and a prominent STEAM maker space for students to build and display project-based work adjacent to one of the main outdoor gathering spots. Learning nooks and discussion areas are embedded throughout the building where informal interaction and collaboration can occur organically, and faculty offices line the corridors in these areas to encourage questions, engagement, and improved outcomes.

An overarching goal of this project was to create a strong and distinctive sense of place. The architecture uses mid-century modern elements that tie into the main Palm Desert campus while including contemporary materials and systems that set this campus apart.  This expansion creates a vibrant beacon of educational opportunity in downtown Indio.