Revisiting an Historic SWA Landscape 
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}

DETAILS

LocationLos Altos, California United States
Size100 acres

SWA’s design for Foothill College is an exemplary model of site, building, and landscape harmony. The 100-acre campus bridges two hilltops, with parking and roadways relegated to the surrounding valleys. Buildings and landscape together form a series of courts and terraces connected by a continuous campus greenway. Overhanging wood eaves of the low profile buildings, together with the meandering paths and rolling landscaped meadow, create a classic pastoral campus setting. The College replaced its Student Center building that formerly sat on an earthquake fault, relocating it next to the Loop Road, providing an opportunity for the landscape to redefine the ceremonial entrance to the school. An orchard of Purple Leaf Plums now defines the front slope and pays homage to the land’s original orchard and farm. The main plaza for the campus, located at the edge of the buildings, serves as a stage for concerts and presentations. The master plan additionally provides an open plaza for various events, with an outdoor room centered around a glass-paned fireplace. The landscape helps create a serene space within an evergreen forest, with Camellias and Azaleas providing color. The Campus Center, along with the new South Slope buildings, is the first addition to the Foothill College campus since its original design in the 1960s.

Related Projects

RIT Global Village and Global Plaza

Global Village, a pedestrian-only infill neighborhood adjacent to Rochester Institute of Technology’s academic core, and its mixed-use centerpiece, Global Plaza, create a social heart for 17,200 students and 3,600 faculty and staff. The landscape architects and architects collaborated on an urban design that establishes multiple “crossroads” ...

Tarrant County College

To meet the growing needs of the downtown and North Main communities in Fort Worth, Texas, SWA provided the master plan and landscape design for a new college campus to add to the Tarrant County College District. Designed to be constructed in a series of phases, the project aims to provide a stimulating and rewarding environment for students and the local comm...

University of Chicago Booth School of Business

This project regenerates a spectacular, historic cliff-side waterfront site by activating it with new purpose. Working carefully to interweave layers of preservation and natural beauty, the building and landscape work together to leave a light footprint. Today, a distinctive global campus honors the history of its earlier occupation while providing inspiration...

Stanford Toyon Hall

Toyon Hall, a significant historic building originally designed by Bakewell and Brown Architects in 1922, is a three-story structure centered around a magnificent formal courtyard with arcades and arches. The purpose of the project was to preserve, maintain and enhance the building and site. SWA scope of work included evaluation of existing site conditions and...

CSU Long Beach Peterson Hall

CSU Long Beach is in the process of a series of major renovations as its mid-century buildings fall short in terms of capacity and technology. The Peterson Hall project extends the classroom experience to the outdoors, while also adding much-needed sustainability updates to the landscape. Terraced seating of composite wood invites students to lounge while awai...

University of Chicago Booth School of Business

This project regenerates a spectacular, historic cliff-side waterfront site by activating it with new purpose. Working carefully to interweave layers of preservation and natural beauty, the building and landscape work together to leave a light footprint. Today, a distinctive global campus honors the history of its earlier occupation while providing inspiration...

Stanford University Campus Planning and Projects

Over the past 20 plus years SWA has been working with Stanford University to reclaim the 100 year old master plan vision of Leland Stanford and Frederick Law Olmsted for the campus. This series of campus improvement projects has restored the historic axis, open spaces and landscape patterns. With Stanford Management Company, SWA designed the Sand Hill corridor...

CSULB Liberal Arts Courtyards

The programming and design of the Liberal Art Courtyards were the result of the successful landscape master plan for 322 acres, completed by SWA in 2012 and enhancing the existing campus aesthetic and experience while improving functional relationships for its students, faculty, and community. Considerations included a wealth of open spaces largely devoted to ...