San Diego, California

UC San Diego Building Naming

As UC San Diego’s residential colleges have transformed into 21st century vertical buildings, RSM Design established a process for naming new buildings. Our team worked closely with the provosts, deans, students, faculty, and staff in a dialogue to translate the curriculum and identity of their colleges into fourteen new names. Based on the college’s needs, alumni and community stakeholders were also invited to the conversations. RSM Design worked with a new team for each college—facilitating conversations, and defining themes. The names were crafted to reflect each individual colleges’ unique differentiators, as well as the university’s mission and vision. As the process neared completion, RSM checked for existing uses of the names. Finally, recommended names were collected in a presentation that could be shared widely and used for approval by the chancellor. Ultimately, the chancellor needed a set of names that reflected the concepts and virtues of the campus community. All 14 names were delivered on time and approved by the university chancellor.

Markets

Services

Naming

Client

UC San Diego

RSM Design engaged with the Sixth College Naming Committee and student team to develop naming for four new buildings in the Torrey Pines Living Learning Neighborhood. Sixth College. The names each express a different aspect of transformation, rooted in Sixth College’s Core Curriculum of culture, art, and technology.

CATALYST
Catalyst: a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change. Catalysts enable change. In this way, they are the start of a transformation.

KALEIDOSCOPE
Kaleidoscopes are about transforming one’s vision by watching moving pieces through a mirrored lens. As the pieces move, the image is magnified each shift. The transformations within the kaleidoscope are dynamic, unpredictable and playful.

TAPESTRY
Tapestries transform threads of color in a strategic way to create culturally rich objects. Each piece is woven into a cohesive whole, becoming stronger and transforming into an entirely new creation, resulting in strength and unlikely links working together in a beautiful fashion.

MOSAIC
Mosaics transform broken pieces into something whole and new. They are carefully arranged to create something beautiful, without blending or blurring the original pieces. They create enduring works of art, telling stories through their durability.

Eighth College is UC San Diego’s newest college. The college’s theme of “Engagement and Community” grounded the process. Names had to be built in dialogue. The committee worked together to find building names that were explicitly and audibly anti-racist—bringing previously unheard sounds and languages into the mix. Student and community groups responded strongly to the ideas of Representation and Transformation. They could hear themselves in the names in new ways. The process and its results spoke to the heart and mind of the campus.

PODEMOS
Podemos is an action verb, expressing a world of future possibilities of what may, might or could happen. The name looks forward, aligning to the Eighth College’s strong sense of purpose. The conjugation of this Spanish word is plural and connects to ideas of working together.

AZAD
Azad means “free” in Persian, Hindi, Bengali and Kurdish. Azad is an expression of freedom, choice, voice and liberation, broadening perspectives and expanding the conversation. It’s short, powerful, and rich in meaning.

SANKOFA
Sankofa is a word from Ghana that means “Go back and get it.” It is an idea about learning from the past to inform the future—about reaching back to move forward. This name was selected for the largest of the new residential buildings.

PULSE
Pulse brings in ideas of heart, love, dance and music through the intersection of multiple stories. It’s a universal language that connects groups that don’t speak the same dialect. The name “Pulse” is alive and embodies the strong sense of urgency central to Eighth College’s goals. Pulse is a strong connection to the largest Theatre District that houses Eighth College.

SURVIVANCE
Survivance is a term from Native American studies— a combination of survival and resistance. Survivance connects with the Eighth College’s mission and culture as an invitation to a conversation. It is very intentionally “not quite English” to invite inquiry and conversation.

RSM Design and the UCSD team used the precedent work from Sixth and Eighth Colleges to name two new towers in the Pepper Canyon These residential buildings are unique to UCSD, as home to transfer students, not living within their enrolled college. The committee looked to the experience of transfer students as inspiration for the name. Names were selected that expressed A. Strong roots. B. Vision and persistence, C. A threshold, front door, or beginning to something transformational. Each name was scored by a student and committee grouping. The final names express the transfer student experience and the power to pave your own path.

RYA
Rya is the Arabic word for dream, and a Scandinavian word for rug or tapestry. As a building name, Rya speaks to the students who’ve dreamed big and continue to build their dreams for the future. It celebrates their vision as fuel for continuous growth, as well as the “tapestry” of students coming together. The student and committee feedback was positive towards this name, saying that it sounded “peaceful, flowy, and open.”

VELA
Vela is Latin and Italian for “sail,” which evokes feelings of exploration and change. It is also Spanish for candle or candlelit space, evoking hope and newness. Many of the students and committee members were drawn to the symbolism of light.

The Ridge Walk Learning Neighborhood will be the new home for existing Thurgood Marshall College. As USCD’s third college, names needed to reflect the legacy and values of the school’s rich history in activism. RSM Design started by understanding this history and then creating a select group of slides to highlight important people and ideas within the legacy. This deck was used by the Dean to communicate with the student population for both building names and names for the residential housing levels. Final names express the idea of building together—and alliances across cultures.

ALIANZA
Alianza, the Spanish word for alliance, speaks to the driving force that fosters action for Thurgood Marshall College students. Alliance building has been a core value of the students from past, present, and future. Students had a positive reaction to this name, saying it was easy to connect with, understand, and pronounce.

UMOJA
Omoja is Swahili for “unity.” The use of Swahili represents the core value of intersectionality. The origins of the word “Omoja” celebrate acts of community, kindness, and togetherness.

COALITION
The name “Coalition” places focus on the coalitions that are built on community activism and positive change within the student community. Students had a strong response to this name, saying it was the “most student led verb here.”

RSM was quick, able to create something visually compelling to form their ideas.

Matthew Smith, Program Manager

UC San Diego alumni, current students, faculty, and the RSM Design team that worked together on the residential building naming.

COMMUNITY & STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

At UC San Diego, naming a place is more than assigning labels—it’s about capturing identity, values, and legacy. RSM Design was invited into this meaningful process, joining forces with four campus committees made up of faculty, students, and staff. Each group brought unique perspectives, ideas, and aspirations to the table. Through a series of thoughtful, hands-on exercises, RSM guided the committees in transforming abstract concepts into names that would shape the character of residential buildings across four colleges. The goal was not only to reflect the distinct spirit of each college, but also to create a collective story that would resonate with the entire UCSD community. These names, rooted in the university’s values and vision, are designed to carry meaning for generations of students to come.

Collaborators:

UC San Diego Alumni, Faculty, and Students