Northwest Vista College is situated in the oak covered hills west of San Antonio, with beautiful views toward the city and surrounding valley. Previously the design team completed an extensive master plan that accommodated for the expansion of the college facilities to three times its current size. The design seeks to sensitively integrate the nearly 400,000 square feet of new buildings and associated roads and parking into the pristine oak covered hills that surround the campus. Careful grading and alignments of proposed infrastructure elements allows for the preservation of existing trees throughout the campus. Additional landscaping applies native plantings with minimal irrigation outside of the primary pedestrian gathering spaces. The heart of the campus incorporates a 2.5 acre lake situated in a natural ravine. The lake serves to visually connect the two sides of the campus while also providing for storm water detention requirements. Bio-filtration and stillen basins help to capture sediments and pollutants before releasing storm water flows into the natural drainage channels that exit the site to the south. The east side of the campus is formed by a series of new buildings terraced up a gentle hillside and arranged around a sloped quadrangle. A new fine arts center will anchor the upper portion of the quad, and serve as the architectural centerpiece of the campus as viewed from the lake below and surrounding community.
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...
Foothill Community College
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 bui...
UCSD Theatre District Living & Learning Neighborhood
Replacing over 10 acres of surface parking at the western edge of UCSD’s campus, the new Theatre District Living & Learning Neighborhood introduces housing for over 2,000 undergraduate students, interwoven with academic facilities, campus arts venues, and access to the adjacent La Jolla Playhouse.
Anchored by five mixed-use buildings, the site intro...
University of North Texas Frisco
The University of North Texas (UNT) envisioned a transformative greenfield campus in Frisco to support the region’s rapid growth and diverse economic needs. The site’s challenges, including topographical variation, stormwater management, and integration with natural and urban contexts, required a master plan that fostered innovation and sustainabil...