UC Irvine’s Middle Earth Housing Expansion is a 214,000-square-foot residential and student-life development designed to increase on-campus housing while creating a new hub for dining, learning, and community activity. The project features two residential towers providing accommodations for approximately 510 students above a two-story mixed-use podium. The podium includes a 750-seat dining facility capable of serving approximately 7,300 meals per day, multipurpose classrooms, student amenity spaces, and offices for UCI Housing Administration. Completed in 2019, the project achieved LEED Platinum certification.

CMI’s work supported the development’s diverse residential and community spaces, including a commercial kitchen and dining facility, administrative offices, student study and gathering areas, and dormitory spaces. The project combined student housing with extensive shared amenities to create an integrated living-learning environment at the heart of the UC Irvine campus.