The Mullin Transportation Design Center (MTDC) at ArtCenter College of Design (ArtCenter) marks the revitalization of a historic “wind tunnel” space into a state-of-the-art educational facility. Ushering in a new era for the college’s world-renowned Transportation Design program, MTDC replicates the experiences of professional design studios through the use of new technology and vehicular access. The design effort nearly doubled the effective square footage of the barrel-vaulted, 43-foot clear high space to hold 31,000 square feet of specialized creative labs, makerspaces, classrooms, studios and offices. New gallery and exhibition spaces as well as a hovering mezzanine feature offer vehicle-intensive opportunities that facilitate research, experimentation and the showcasing of forward-thinking design.

Throughout the mid-1900s, the 85-foot wide by 220-foot long MTDC space was home to a supersonic wind tunnel operated by Caltech as a testing facility for leading aerospace manufacturers. The interaction between the wind tunnel as a vessel holding objects and one containing extra-large voids influenced the composition of spaces and the arrangement of functions in the design of the new MTDC. Additionally, the act of hovering or appearing to float became a conceptual driver for the work and a link to the poetic past of the wind tunnel, resulting in a “building within a building” strategy. The LEED Gold certified project features a literal building floating within another building—63 piles connect a series of grade beams tied to columns and bearing walls, supporting cast in place concrete upper level decks, supporting light metal framing, for an assembly that is seismically separated from the existing historic structure.

The overall design acknowledges the interplay of time and the evolution of design processes related to transportation and modern aviation. A taut, smooth aesthetic of strange lightness hovers in contrast to the rough lovely wooden vessel of the original wind tunnel. The east side of the project, which holds studios and offices on two levels, is a simple bar laminated to the edge of the wind tunnel. The remainder of the space comprises hovering elements that float in the space and shape larger voids, a nod to the aeronautic history of the space. A flex lecture space and viewing deck on the mezzanine level sit above the Fabrication Lab and Vehicle Architecture Lab on level one. A curved ramping gallery, connecting to the second level, slips around and over the Art and Process Lab, framing the upper division undergraduate studio to complete the hovering diagram.

MTDC serves as a pedestrian passthrough and focal point that connects all buildings and facilities on ArtCenter’s South Campus. This passthrough on the west side of level one also contains vertical circulation elements that allow all visitors to loop up to the hovering programs and flow around the lab spaces visible below. As a result, MTDC is also the juncture where all disciplines and constituencies of ArtCenter can converge with both physical and visual access integrated throughout the space. It represents a future of intersectionality, where silos are replaced by opportunity, fluidity and a sense of belonging.

Design: Darin Johnstone Architects (DJA)
Design Team: Darin Johnstone, Sandra Hutchings, Matt Liese, Howard Chen, Sean Davis, Dennis Lee, Long Pan, Kaita Saito, Sue Choi, Te-Kuei Huang
Contractor: Del Amo Construction
Project Manager: Parthenon
Photography: Joshua White