Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Arizona

Sonoran Landscape Laboratory

  • 11/01/13
University of Arizona

PHOTOS © TEN EYCK LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, INC. / PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL TIMMERMAN

To further its mission, the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (CALA) at the University of Arizona in Tucson built a new expansion facility that allows students from all three design disciplines (architecture, landscape architecture and planning) the opportunity to work side-by-side in an integrated studio environment.

The site also performs as an ongoing laboratory and demonstration facility for sustainable design in the arid southwest. The new building provided an opportunity for Ten Eyck Landscape Architects to create a high-performance landscape functioning as an outdoor classroom and an entry plaza gathering space. The Sonoran Landscape Laboratory exemplifies the sustainable strategies of water harvesting and reuse, climate regulation, air and water cleansing, all in a thriving desert habitat within an urban campus context.

At the entry plaza, a perforated metal bridge allows water to flow through the space. An accessible, sunken outdoor classroom of permeable stabilized granite provides a place for student study, building projects and gathering.

A vine-covered scrim helps to shade the southern exposure of CALA’s addition while an 11,000-gallon tank collects storm water, gray water and HVAC condensate to support the native garden, resulting in an annual water savings of 86 percent.

The project increased the biomass of the site by 50 percent. The resulting urban wildlife habitat has attracted many species of birds, including hawks searching for ground mammals and reptiles in the garden. The pond is home for endangered fish and is listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a Safe Harbor urban site.

The project won a National ASLA Honor Award, an Arizona ASLA Award of Excellence and an Arizona ASLA President’s Award

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management November 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.

  • University of Washington Opens New Broadcast Studio

    The University of Washington in Seattle, Wash., recently announced the opening of Sundodger Studios, a new broadcast, production, and content facility, according to a news release. The university partnered with Anthony James Partners for the design and development of the studio, which will host about 100 live broadcasts and 120 live videoboard shows per year.

  • Dallas-Area District Debuts Three New Facilities

    The Duncanville Independent School District in southwest Dallas, Texas, recently held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for three new facilities that resulted from a $170-million bond program passed in 2023, according to a news release.

  • DLR Group Announces New Mid-Atlantic Higher Education Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has promoted Principal Shawn Gaither, AIA, LEED AP, to the role of higher education leader in the Mid-Atlantic, according to a news release. Gaither has served with the firm for more than 20 years, most recently as the national higher education business development leader.