The San Benito student housing project at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) reached a major milestone last week as construction teams topped out the last of the residential buildings. Representatives from SOM, Mithun, Webcor, and UCSB gathered on-site to sign the final beam, marking the structural completion of the 726,000-square-foot development.

“As designers, we understood our challenge to accommodate housing density in a way that weaves human experience into the native site ecology,” said Design Partner Olin McKenzie. “Topping out these first buildings allows us to see the project’s scale and its relationship to the coast for the first time. Everything about the physical design of the buildings—the wind, the sunlight, the adjacent wetlands—creates a natural living environment that feels like an extension of the campus itself.”

San Benito is the university’s largest housing expansion in a decade. When it opens in 2027, the complex will provide 2,224 beds across seven buildings. The design uses a staggered layout and a “sawtooth” facade to capture coastal breezes and natural light, while offering students views across campus to the ocean and over Santa Barbara airport to the Santa Ynez Mountains.

The nearly six-acre site contains the six slender residential bar buildings linked by a two-story plinth that navigates the site’s steep grade change. Designed in collaboration with Mithun, this central spine supports student life with amenities like a market, study lounges and student services offices.