DETAILS
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 parking, plus existing buildings and infrastructures and the complex systems that operate within the physical environment, such as ecological systems, social interactions, and circulation patterns. The CSULB Courtyards exemplify the modern educational experience by providing inter-connectivity at all levels. Providing outdoor Wi-Fi capabilities and electric outlets plus electronic key card access to enhance safety, the Liberal Arts Campus is now a technology-driven space. The three courtyards share plant and material palettes, while also being flexible enough to adapt to distinct programs. Populated by movable furniture, custom-designed seating, and bike racks, the courtyards may easily become outdoor classrooms and study areas.
Work attributed to SWA/Balsley principal Gerdo Aquino with SWA.
Public Safety Answering Center
The landscape is a key component of the PSAC II site. This new five hundred million dollar emergency call center is strategically located in the Bronx, New York and will facilitate emergency response for the City of New York.
An earthern grassland berm completely envelops PSAC II’s architecture and establishes a visual connection between PSAC II and the...
Tampa Museum of Art
The new Tampa Museum of Art by Stanley Saitowitz is set within the city’s arts district whose master plan was prepared by Thomas Balsley Associates and also includes Performing Arts Center, Children’s Museum, Riverwalk, and the centerpiece Curtis Hixon Park. The museum is dramatically sited on a plinth overlooking its companion park and the Hillsborough River....
Medgar Evers College Campus Quad
Since its founding in the 1960s, Medgar Evers College has been a central figure and source of pride for Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant community. Its reinvigoration, spurred by a rapidly expanding student body, began ten years ago with a campus master plan, prepared by Ennead Architects and Thomas Balsley Associates. In addition to new facilities, the plan fore...
Medgar Evers College
This new quad provides a unifying pedestrian connection between Bedford and Franklin Avenues and between existing and new campus buildings, finally providing the campus with a cohesive identity and sense of place. With the dramatic transformation of a parking lot into more campus green space comes the opportunity to integrate a series of sustainability strateg...