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.
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...
Montclair State University Student Center and Quad
SWA/Balsley collaborated with DIG Architects and Montclair State University to reimagine the campus student center, adjacent quad, and connections to the surrounding campus. Through site analysis and project stakeholder meetings, key pedestrian and vehicular circulation routes were identified for resident students, daily commuters, and University staff. The st...
Scripps College Residence
The landscape design for the new residence hall builds on the Scripps College campus tradition of landscaped courtyards formed by buildings and circulation corridors. In doing so, the design helps to establish a new east-west axis connecting the main campus to future recreation facilities to the east. The project also improves interrelationships and connection...
Coda at Tech Square
The Coda building in Technology Square represents a $375 million investment into Atlanta’s budding innovation district – the Southeast’s premier innovation neighborhood. The area has attracted industry innovation centers including AT&T Mobility, Panasonic Automotive, Southern Company, Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot, Coca-Cola Enterprises, NCR,...