SANTA MONICA : Science Holds Court at Tennis Facility : Education: While quake-damaged building undergoes reconstruction, Santa Monica College sets up a temporary ‘village’ on the eight courts.

Santa Monica College has lost its tennis courts for the sake of science. Science education, that is.

It’s not an experiment; just a matter of space. Science Village, with 37 mobile buildings housing classrooms, laboratories, offices and storage rooms, has gone up on the college’s eight courts as temporary quarters while the earthquake-damaged science building is rebuilt.

The college will spend $28 million on a three-year project to reconstruct the building, said Bruce Smith, a college spokesman.

The $2.5-million village was formally dedicated Tuesday by college officials, although some of the buildings have been in use since February.

The 41-year-old science building was the most severely damaged on the campus, which sustained an estimated $26 million in damage. The figure was based on the appraised value of the buildings before the quake. A parking structure was irreparably damaged and the gym may have to be replaced too.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency program will pay for 90% of the damage, with the state kicking in the remaining portion, Smith said.

“In the future, all buildings will have to be retrofitted,” said college President Richard Moore.

Among institutes of higher education, Smith said, Santa Monica College was the second-hardest hit behind Cal State Northridge. CSUN sustained $350 million in damages, a spokesman said.

In the science building, labs were rendered not usable, and some big-ticket instruments such as an explosion-proof refrigerator were severely damaged. Most containers holding chemicals were unbroken, said Peggy Kline, associate professor of chemistry.

The faculty had to restructure class schedules for the 1,000 science students and use ingenuity to find space. Classes were held in the art and photo galleries, the president’s office--any space they could find. Space at West Los Angeles College and the Santa Monica Airport was also used.

The 50,000-square-foot village was built to earthquake codes, said Daniel Whalen, vice president of the Marina del Rey-based Caldwell Architects, which designed the project.

All are not happy about the complex, however. The administration office has received calls and letters from people complaining about the loss of the courts, said Owen Hahn of the physical education department.