Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

STV Wins Award of Excellence for Laney College Master Plan

  • 10/28/14

OAKLAND, CA — STV’s work on the Laney College Facilities Master Plan received an Award of Excellence in the Master Planning category of the 2014 Community College Facility Coalition (CCFC) Professional Design Awards Program.

Laney College, located in urban Oakland and part of the Peralta Community College District, was designed in the 1970s with an inward focus, purposely cut off from nearby amenities and surrounding neighborhoods, which was in line with the urban design and instructional practices of the time.

The new Facilities Master Plan (FMP) creates a roadmap for development in sync with the 2010 Laney College Educational Master Plan, which aims to open the campus up to the community and encourage students to successfully pursue their educational goals. The plan was created through a collaborative process led by the Laney Facilities Planning Committee, which included the college president, faculty, administration, students, community members, facilities and sustainability staff, maintenance and operations staff, IT staff and local district leadership.

STV is promoting a community environment in the FMP through several key design features, including a west entry with an art garden that opens up to the nearby Oakland Museum of California for joint programs, a larger green quad with views and access to the adjacent Merritt Channel Estuary, and athletic facilities that can be used for community events. The FMP also creates additional entry points that are distinct and recognizable, and locates community-oriented buildings at campus anchor points. Art and sculpture pieces will be located along walkways and within smaller gardens and courtyards throughout the campus, uniting the college and providing additional learning opportunities.

About STV
Founded more than 100 years ago, STV has become a leader in providing architectural, planning, engineering, environmental and construction management services for buildings, transportation systems, infrastructure, energy and other facilities. The firm is ranked 42nd in Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms survey. STV is 100 percent employee-owned. For more information, visit our website at www.stvinc.com or follow @STVGroup on Twitter.

About The Community College Facility Coalition
The Community College Facility Coalition (CCFC) was formed for the purpose of providing advocacy for facilities issues and providing critical information and services to community college districts and their business partners on facility matters. The organization provides a strong voice before the state legislature and administration on facilities issues of concern to the community colleges.

Featured

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.

  • Higher Ed is Betting on New Buildings While Quietly Undermining Their Campuses — Here’s Why

    In this climate, the owner’s representative has changed from a delivery-focused advisor to a strategic campus partner. Institutions are increasingly relying on owner’s reps not just to manage, cope, schedule, and budget, but also help evaluate whether a project should proceed at all.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched the 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which collects data on the previous year’s K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.