Campus construction and architecture
Caltech is small but prizes excellence and ambition, and that emphasis applies to architecture on the 124-acre campus as much as research and education. Here, you can find information about current construction and renovation projects, design honors, small business support, and the plans governing Caltech construction, with links to learn more.
Current projects
Caltech works to minimize any interference to traffic, parking, or quality of life caused by campus construction projects. However, we know disruptions are inevitable, and we appreciate your patience. Crews are required to follow city construction guidelines and safety protocols, and trucks use city-advised routes.
Resnick Sustainability Center
The Resnick Sustainability Center, a future hub for energy and sustainability research, is being built just north of San Pasqual Street on the east side of Wilson Avenue. The building's exterior is nearing completion. Work is under way on landscaping inside of a fenced area north of San Pasqual walk and between Braun, Noyes, and Schlinger laboratories.
Ginsburg Center
We expect occasional noise as site preparation begins for the Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Center for Quantum Precision Measurement west of Arden Road and north of California Boulevard.
Slated for construction in 2024–2025, the Ginsburg Center will expedite discoveries in multiple scientific fields and help students learn to collaborate at the rich interfaces of quantum physics, computer science, engineering, astronomy, chemistry, and biology. The demolition phase of this project
A big thanks to neighbors who joined us at an open house on October 10 to hear from and talk with architects from HOK, representatives of the local company Charles Pankow Builders, and Caltech physicists and facilities leaders.
The plan that governs Caltech construction
This plan, approved by the City of Pasadena, sets forth rules and guidelines for development on campus:
Recent design recognition
AILA honors the future Resnick Sustainability Center
The American Institute of Architects Los Angeles recently recognized the design for the future Resnick Sustainability Center with a 2021 NEXTLA Honor Award. The design is also featured in Dezeen, a prominent architecture and design magazine.
Pasadena Beautiful recognizes two recent Caltech projects
Pasadena Beautiful's 2021 Commercial Design Awards honored Caltech's garden-wrapped Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Neuroscience Research Building and a complex of 1920s bungalows that Caltech moved from the neuroscience building site to San Pasqual Street and carefully restored and landscaped. The awards, conferred every five years, recognize efforts to create exceptional landscapes that benefit the environment, the community, and people who work and live nearby.
Caltech supports local businesses
More than 70 small businesses earned a total of $36 million in 16 recent construction and renovation projects on Caltech's campus (as of 2021).