The University of Houston Law Center, established in 1947, has earned national recognition, with three of its programs ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News and World Report. Despite these academic accolades, the original Law Center building faced significant challenges due to its location and design. Situated in Houston’s low-lying coastal prairie ecoregion, the partially underground structure was particularly vulnerable to frequent flooding and water damage.
To address these issues, SWA developed a landscape solution that not only resolves the site’s practical challenges but also enhances the student experience, promotes sustainability, and supports future campus growth. The landscape design, created for the new LEED Silver-certified building, extends the modern architectural aesthetic into the surrounding outdoor spaces while focusing on improving student life.
A key project goal was to seamlessly integrate the new Law Center into the broader campus and lay a foundation for future development. To mitigate flood risks, the design elevated the building footprint above the floodplain. The surrounding landscape was contoured to channel stormwater into native vegetation and an on-site detention meadow, creating a natural stormwater management system. Additionally, the preservation of the campus’s iconic oak trees was a central design feature.
The landscape plan seamlessly extends indoor gathering spaces into the outdoors, offering diverse environments for student and faculty activities. These areas, designed with native plants and strategic planting arrangements, create immersive experiences that encourage ecological awareness and interaction with nature.
By integrating hardscape elements, native plants, and stormwater management strategies, the landscape design supports a wide variety of activities while promoting sustainability. It enhances campus life aesthetically and functionally, with the detention basin serving both practical and visual purposes.
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 ...
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...
Soka University
When Japan-based Soka Gakkai International, one of the world’s largest lay Buddhist organizations, decided to establish a fully accredited liberal arts university in southern Orange County, SWA joined with the architects to create a setting that expresses the goals of the new university. Soka means “to create value” and the ideal of Soka education is to foster...
Cañada College Kinesiology & Wellness
In collaboration with ELS, SWA designed a new landmark for Canada College: the Kinesiology & Wellness Center. The project replaced a windowless 1960s-era gym building and outdoor asphalt yard with the glassy new building and infinity pool deck on this hilltop campus with fantastic views. The project also created a new campus arrival and ceremonial overlo...