Construction begins on an architecturally distinctive building that combines world-class design with economy when ground is broken in mid-October for the Social Sciences and Humanities Building at the University of California, Davis. To be located on parking lot 11 next to Young Hall and across from the Memorial Union, the 140,000-square-foot building will significantly increase teaching and research space for the humanities and social sciences. The building will include some 340 offices, classrooms, computer teaching laboratories, conference rooms, research and library/study rooms and a 400-seat lecture hall. At a project cost of $25.8 million, the building has the lowest cost per square foot of five social science buildings currently being planned in the UC system. The building is being paid for by revenue bonds approved by the state Legislature and put on a fast track as part of an accelerated construction program to stimulate the state economy. Funding for the project has been in the works for the past four years, when program and design work were prepared. Architect Antoine Predock, an iconoclastic designer of international repute, designed the four-story building with a fifth story below grade, using inspiration from Sacramento Valley's natural history, said campus planner Bob Segar. The building was designed as a metaphor for California's geography, with two center wings set at angles. The blocks slope upward to four stories, simulating the uplift that formed the Coast Range and Sacramento Valley. Lower two-story sections flank A Street and the eastern part of the Quad. "The architect was very attuned to the cost factor," said Randall Fleming, a principal architect at UC Davis. "He's designed a building that is very rich in spaces and forms and yet is based on an efficient and economic structural system." UC Davis architect Bob Strand praised Predock's respect for designing a building that suits the Davis climate. In addition, Strand pointed to the "richness of design" Predock has created by emphasizing interrelated indoor and outdoor spaces for this campus gateway building along A Street. Expected to open in the winter of 1995, the building will house seven departments -- economics, philosophy, history, political science, agricultural economics, international relations and sociology. In addition, research space has been provided for the psychology department and three centers -- agricultural history, agricultural issues, and cooperatives. Also moving in will be the dean's office for the College of Letters and Sciences. Predock has designed the building with linked courtyards that flow from the corner of Third and A streets to the campus bookstore. The below-grade courtyards have been designed with areas for quiet studying, midday lunches and social or academic occasions. Persons with disabilities can reach the lower courtyards from street level by using elevators with easy-to-use controls. In addition, the Social Sciences and Humanities building was designed to be energy efficient, with recessed windows on the southwest exposures. The two center building blocks were rotated to take advantage of the sun. The construction, expected to take two years, has been planned to minimize inconvenience to pedestrians and bicyclists who travel past the building site. The heavily traveled bike path from A Street along Hickey Gymnasium will be temporarily relocated a few feet to the north so that the construction won't interfere with those traveling to and from campus. Construction trucks will remain on A Street. Campus staff are planning a meeting with nearby neighbors to discuss the project and answer questions. The winner of several international design awards, Predock includes on his resume projects ranging from hotels for Disney in France and Orlando to the Nelson Fine Arts Center at Arizona State University in Tempe and the American Heritage Center and Art Museum at the University of Wyoming. Predock will give a slide show and lecture on his design concepts for the Social Sciences and Humanities Building at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in the AGR Room of the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center. The public is invited.