Sacramento Valley's geography provided the inspiration for the design of the newly completed Social Sciences and Humanities Building at the University of California, Davis. Architect Antoine Predock, an iconoclastic designer of international repute, designed the four-story building, with a fifth story below ground, keeping in mind California's natural history, according to Clayton Halliday, project manager and architect at UC Davis. The building has two center wings set at angles that slope upward four stories, simulating the geological uplift that formed the Coast Range and Sacramento Valley. The architecturally distinctive building includes 340 offices, classrooms, computer teaching laboratories, conference rooms, research and library/study rooms and a 370-seat lecture hall. The 140,000-square-foot building will significantly increase teaching and research space for the humanities and social sciences. Faculty and staff supporting eight departments and programs will complete their move to the facility by the time the fall quarter begins at the end of the month, noted Halliday. In addition to the administrative offices for the College of Letters and Science, new residents of the building will include agricultural economics, economics, international relations, history, history and philosophy of science, philosophy, political science and sociology. The $25.8 million building was paid for by revenue bonds approved by the state Legislature. "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." The building was completed within the projected construction period of two years and within budget. It was placed on a fast track as part of an accelerated construction program to help stimulate the economy. Design concepts emphasized interrelated indoor and outdoor spaces. In addition, the 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. Predock designed the building with linked courtyards that flow from corner to corner. The architect used "natural" building materials such as aluminum panels and hand-troweled plaster to add to the building's distinctiveness, noted Halliday. Landscaping is completed except for some finishing touches for the below-grade courtyards that have been set aside for studying, midday lunches and social or academic occasions. The building is located next to Young Hall and across from the Memorial Union.