CAMPUS / COMMUNITY INTERFACE Commercial/ Retail:

At project sites where the campus is • Where campus development is located

adjacent to the surrounding adjacent to commercial or institutional

community, a “good neighbor policy” uses, such as retail, office, religious facilities,

should govern landscape/site design. transportation centers or yards, and

This means the design should government facilities, the nature of the

incorporate positive features which relationships between the campus

buffer the campus from its neighbors development and its neighbors should be

where needed, while mitigating clearly defined prior to design.

possible nuisance impacts such as • Where an interface encouraging cross-or

noise and spill over lighting. through-traffic and/or a cohesive design

A. Campus Adjacent to Residential treatment is desired, coordination of design

Where campus development directly between the developments should occur.

abuts community residential Elements requiring coordination may include:

development, a transition zone should • Pedestrian paths and

be provided, including the ff. elements crossings

where appropriate: • Car and bicycle circulation

• Buffer zone, wide enough to provide a visual and parking

separation and buffer from other potential
impacts, • Building massing, solar
as needed. access, and architectural
• Landscaped screen treatment, including trees
and treatment
shrubs.
• Permanent wall or screen fencing. • Landscape treatment,
• Sound wall for noise control. theme plantings,
• Buildings transitioned in height to no more 35
feet hardscape and street
above grade next to multifamily residential and
25 furniture
feet above grade next to single-family • Graphics and lighting
residential.
Where an interface separating the
• Control of any spillover lighting.
campus development from its
B. Campus Adjacent to
neighbors is desired, a transition zone
should be provided, including the D. Campus Agricultural Fields Adjacent to

following elements where appropriate: Surrounding Community:

• Buffer zone, wide enough to provide a visual • Campus agricultural fields are located next

separation and buffer from potential non-visual to community development and City

impacts, as needed. (Minimum depth 50’) streets provide access to University teaching

• Landscaped screen treatment, including trees and research areas. Along City streets, the
and
University should cooperate with the City
shrubs.
in the design of sidewalk, driveway, and
• Permanent wall or screen fencing.
drainage improvements; and landscaped
• Sound wall for noise control.
median, entry, and other right-of-way
• Buildings with height and massing appropriate
treatments.
to
E. Freeway Interface:
the adjacent permitted zoning.
• When the opportunity arises, the
• Control of any spillover lighting
University should actively participate in the
C. Streetscape Treatments:
landscape design process of any freewayrelated
• Landscaping for campus projects located
improvements, including
along City
landscaping, noise walls, grading, drainage,
streets should be coordinated with City
landscaping lighting, and design character.
requirements where possible. • The landscape treatment of interchanges
• This includes the provision of landscaped should be viewed as an orientation element
strips;
for motorists arriving at or departing from
sidewalk, driveway, and drainage
improvements; the University.

and theme street tree plantings.  The landscape treatment of overpass and
underpass
• For City streets within the campus,
responsibilities crossings contributes to the perception of the

as to construction, irrigation, and maintenance freeway as a penetrable edge, rather than a

of barrier.

street trees and median landscaping within City  Pedestrian and bicyclist wayfinding and safety
are
street rights-of-way should be determined in
design considerations for these crossings.
concert with the City.
 Examples of design features which may There is likewise need to blend community
facilitate learning centers into the

wayfinding while enhancing the user experience pattern and character of the local, surrounding
community
include murals, tile work, and other wall art;
neighborhoods and facilities.
skylights; sculpture and water features;
decorative PRINCILPLES FOR SITE & BUILDING
ORGANIZATION
graphics/directional signage; decorative
3. Meander Circulation while Ensuring
lighting/light sculpture; architectural treatment
Supervision
of
Circulation must be used to create gentle
the crossing structure; landscape treatment of
transitions from different
embankments and walls; and special pavement
spaces, taking advantage of turns and bends to
and
create unique area of
seating treatments.
learning but must be designed to ensure
 When designing campus projects in supervision by not only

proximity to the freeway, visual and administrators, but students, teachers and
parents as well.
noise buffers must be provided.
PRINCILPLES FOR SITE & BUILDING
 A continuous landscape treatment ORGANIZATION
should be developed along the east 4. Design for Safe Schools
and west sides of the freeway, as The safe school design principle includes:
implementation of campus projects • Access controls that use doors, shrubs, fences,
and freeway widening projects permit. gates and other physical

1. Create Smaller Schools design elements to discourage access to an area

by all but its intended endusers;
• There is clear need to limit the size of learner
groupings • Natural surveillance which assures that
offenders and intruders will be
for students.
observed;
• Offer students greater opportunities to
participate in • Definition of territory by using sidewalks,
landscaping, porches and other
extracurricular activities and to exercise
leadership roles. elements that establish boundaries between
public and private areas;
2. Respect Contextual Compatibility While
Providing Design Diversity PRINCILPLES FOR SITE & BUILDING
ORGANIZATION
[Link] Teachers as Professionals The Urban Park

7. Provide Studios to Support Project-Based • The urban park is a necessity understood all
Learning
over. Conservation is related to life around
[Link] for a Variety of Learning Groups
it and will retain its role in the city’s web.
PRINCILPLES FOR SITE & BUILDING
• Large public parks on urban scale (beyond
ORGANIZATION
an individual square or neighborhood
[Link] Together Virtual & Physical Learning
Spaces garden) are a subject for research,
8. Establish a Community Forum conservation and treatment.
10. Provide Opportunities for Job Training • These gardens are categorized as
-Design Places with Respect for belonging to the urban web (such as
-Scale & Development Need Central Park in New York), because
-Maximized Natural & they create a relationship with the
-Full-Spectrum Lighting streets and surrounding city, or
CHARACTER OF ALL SPACES belong to nature and create a large
Design Healthy Buildings recreational park.
Design for Appropriate • These types of gardens or parks will be
Acoustics larger elements in terms of conservation,
• Allow for Transitional because they contain more elements, both
Spaces Between Indoor & in terms of historical record and biology.
Outdoor Spaces • They display enormous vitality. Vegetation
• Establish A Variety of is ancient and complex, while topography is
Outdoor Learning intricate, involving the creation of lakes
Environments and streams, paths and roads.
SITE DESIGN & OUTDOOR LEARNING SPACES • Their decisive importance for the neighboring
city is
• Separate Children & Pedestrians from Vehicles
& Services their size, which transforms them into a
significant topic
SITE DESIGN & OUTDOOR LEARNING SPACES
of distinctive value.
• Development Opportunities and Constraints
• In these cases, conservation and legislation
CITY PARKS
are the
general rule, but that cannot be maintenance.
overemphasized since
USABLE OPEN SPACE
the park is dissociated from the neighborhoods GUIDELINES:
located Pedestrian Emphasis:
• Usable open spaces should
nearby.
accommodate
• Therefore, at present, normal conservation outdoor activities, where the
which does landscape/site
design emphasizes the pedestrian
not refer to the urban web is barely reflected in experience. The design of these spaces
outline should take into account:
plans. This is one of the reasons why overall – The pedestrian scale and viewpoint.
attention to – The pedestrian rate of travel.
– Provision of visual Interest along
urban characteristics is important. pedestrian routes.
• These parks are occasionally grouped within – Way finding and orientation for
national visitors,
newcomers, and regular users.
conservation plans that cover cities possessing – Personal safety and security.
different – Disabled access.
Open Space Network:
needs; local aspects should be examined.
• Usable open spaces should be
Summary of Documentation of developed as part of a campus
network of public open spaces linked
Natural Elements
by paseos, promenades, and
1. Definition of the size of the element, pathways.
complete • Typical usable open spaces include
malls, plazas, courtyards, and
mapping of borders, hills, etc. entry/drop-off features, along with
2. Identification of the extent of and solution for building-related open space
Pedestrian Patterns:
ecological problems. • Design should recognize
3. Identification of vitality and microclimates, common use patterns by people,
such as bunching up at building
determining their extent and solutions entries, cutting corners at path
intersections, and shortcuts
4. Inclusion of ownership or primary
across lawns, and sitting on walls
responsibility,
and steps.
within the city’s statutory scope. Animation:
• To insure adequate: animation of
5. Examination of urban links to important city
usable
points, traffic and pedestrian axes. open spaces, the design should include:
– Areas for a variety of activities, such
6. Definition of responsibilities, operations and
as gathering,
display, performance, play/recreation, • Development of special
eating, landscaped areas for education
reading/study, and people watching. or to provide special experiences
– A variety of seating types (backed (such as a “touch’ area for blind
benches, persons) is encouraged.
table seating, lawn, ledge seating, • Memorial elements such as
amphitheater/stairs), preferably in a designated trees, plaques, and
variety of historical markers should be
settings (sunny/shady, busy/quiet, integrated into the landscape
open/secluded). design.
– Provision for pedestrian paths and Neighborhood Park
bicycle travel • The central neighborhood park is the
and/or parking. focal point
– Accommodation of or adjacency to and foundation of the community.
major • It provides an area for recreation and
draws, such as a food concession, play, as
classroom well as social activities such as
facility, or key circulation crossroads. community
Animation: picnics, bazaars, holiday displays and
– Elements which invite activities
participation, such as for all ages to meet and gather
artwork, display, exhibit, together.
or water features. • The park is best located where it is
– Design elements which accessible
add festivity or color, to the highest possible number of
including permanent residents
facilities (kiosks, food within walking distance and adjacent to
pavilions, arcades) and any
temporary features mixed use core, elementary school,
(booths/tents, greenway
platforms/stages, arid or trail.
flags and banners). • Freestanding neighborhood parks
Design Features: with street access on
• The campus should become an all sides are encouraged.
outdoor art gallery. Artwork • In addition, the parks should be
including statues and murals accessible by
should be incorporated into the pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles.
landscaped fabric of the • Desirable views into and out of the
developed campus. park should have a
• Fountains and water features are unique character or experience and
desirable focal points, but should provide visibility of
be located in high impact/high facilities for security purposes.
use areas and utilize recirculated Public Square
water. • A square is a type of open space or
Neighborhood Park that may areas and the street network, as well as,
encompass part of a block. The separates and
square is typically developed in a defines roadways and sidewalks.
formal manner consisting of paved • The width of a parkway varies from
walks, lawns, trees, fountains, and four to fifteen feet
may include civic buildings. depending on the type of street and
This area is intended as a central should adjoining land uses.
be designed to • Grass, shrubs, flowers, street trees,
accommodate gathering space for the and street lighting
community and a are located within the parkway.
wide variety of gatherings. • Utilities will very rarely be located
Plazas within this area.
• A plaza is a form of open space that is Street Trees
typically • Street trees are required in a
more urban in nature and occupies a Traditional Neighborhood
smaller (TN) to create a frame around and
portion of a block than a square. improve the
• Plazas are typically located at the appearance of the street, as well as,
intersection of separate vehicles
major streets. from pedestrians.
• They are bordered by civic uses, • The existence of trees on the street
commercial side of the pedestrian
activities, private buildings, and may sidewalk is critical.
include • Whenever possible, the placement of
parking. trees on both sides
• These spaces may range from highly of a sidewalk creates an exceptional
interactive pedestrian
areas with adjacent commercial uses, environment.
such as • In a mixed residential area (MRA)
retail shops and sidewalk cafes, to quiet street trees shall be
passive located in the parkway within the street
areas for sitting, reading and relaxation. right-of-way and
Parkways spaced approximately 30 feet on
• The parkway is public open space or a center.
planting strip, • However, it may be necessary to
located between the sidewalk and the group trees in some
street. locations to avoid obstructions and
• It is important in defining the create views to retail
pedestrian realm by shops.
separating it from the street and • Native species of trees should be used
creating a feeling of whenever possible.
safety and comfort.
• The parkway provides a visual link
between open space