Situated on the corner of 14th Street and Pico Boulevard, the Santa Monica College Arts Complex will replace an existing surface car park and serve as a new western gateway for the college. Utilizing an industrial aesthetic yet elegant in its detailing, the new Arts Complex endeavours to become a 'factory of creativity' inviting students, faculty and the community of Santa Monica to immediately feel at home.

Working closely with the arts faculty of SMC, the new building prioritizes a progressive vision for arts education. Leaving behind the dated approach of isolated disciplines, Grimshaw's open design promotes discovery and experimentation that is a vital component for contemporary artistic practices.

Celebrating the temperate weather of Southern California, the design is comprised of three distinct volumes that are linked through external, shaded areas providing ample opportunities for informal teaching and gathering in open-air weather protected courtyards. The external circulation and gathering areas drastically reduce the need for air conditioning, minimizing the overall energy use of the new complex.

Prioritizing function over discipline, the three volumes of the complex separately house three arts education pillars: studios, teaching spaces and workshops. The volumes are woven together by a loose-fit external perforated metal screen that acts as a neutral backdrop for the life of the building: the artwork. The industrial screen unifies the visual identity of the complex and provides a utilitarian artifice for the students to reimagine and reinterpret how to exhibit artwork. Ephemeral in nature, the building's skin is meant to create a dappled sunlight effect, allowing the lighting conditions to change over the course of the day in the circulation areas.

At the heart of the design is a space for the students, faculty and the surrounding community of SMC to feel a sense of ownership and pride in. The volumes are sited due to their relevant size but also in orientation to the core SMC campus, providing an open armed welcome for students moving from east to west. With a mission to improve urban conditions for the college's adjacent neighbors and a sensitivity to the single-family homes to the south, the new arts complex is set away from the property line with a landscaped buffer to decrease ambient noise from busy working art students.

The entrance sequence is a dynamic layering of open areas and volumes that reveal the internal operations over time. The initial external plaza provides a degree of permeability, allowing the flow of students between the core campus and the arts complex. The external environment of the plaza generates opportunities for programming such as exhibitions, potential media screenings or impromptu gatherings.