Oxnard College is celebrating the opening of its new, 38,500-square-foot student services center, which will help the campus expand to serve 11,500 students. Designed by West Los Angeles-based Nadel Architects, the $18 million structure serves as a campus focal point and a “foreground” building consolidating a number of administrative and student offices — including the cafeteria, student business office, admission and records, financial aid, career and transfer center, health services and disabled student services — into one convenient location on the 118-acre campus.

As one of the main structures on the campus, its central, foreground location along the quadrangle is sited to accommodate a future classroom building. Nadel’s approach to this highly visible location was to respect the scale of the surrounding older structures, as well as fully utilize the dominant materials used on those buildings. The building’s exterior materials, including colored masonry units, precast concrete and tinted glazing, are compatible with those of adjacent facilities to visually integrate the new construction into the overall campus environment.

[Photography by Y.K. Cheung Photography]