The Master Plan
The preservation of the Vernal Pools guided the site selection process. Because Vernal Pools are most prevalent at the low points of drainage corridors, SOM initially recommended that the university be located at the highest point of the 2,000-acre site. In consulting with University of California scientists, however, it became apparent that runoff from the new university would have had a major secondary impact on the Vernal Pools if the campus were located at the highest point. Positioning the university at the southernmost location of the site, despite the presence of Vernal Pools, proved to be the most ecologically responsible option.
SOM compacted the campus footprint at this location, and designated land for a 5,000-acre conservation zone, a 750-acre natural reserve dedicated to the study of the Vernal Pools, and a 340-acre land reserve for future university expansion. In an effort to extend this environmental stewardship to the region, the University of California also worked with the State of California to enable funding to preserve 26,000 acres of Vernal Pools in the Valley.
By positioning the campus at the bottom of the site, SOM also created connections between the campus, the town of Merced, and Lake Yosemite, a picturesque irrigation reservoir that defines an edge of the campus. The benefits were three-fold:
- The proximity to Merced meant that people could walk or bike between campus and town, strengthening the physical, social, and economic relationships between these places in an environmentally conscious way;
- Winds off of Lake Yosemite could cool the campus and buildings in the hot summers, thus reducing the use of air conditioning;
- Lake Yosemite would provide a visual and physical amenity for the campus, particularly in the early years of development while the university has limited recreational facilities.
The campus is planned analogously to Central Valley towns. "They tend to be grid-like cities," said Ellen Lou, Director of Urban Planning at SOM San Francisco. "And so we applied a similar grid to guide and organize the campus spaces." The grid lines are not necessarily streets, but rather organizing elements for campus parcels and future growth.
SOM implemented an activity-based zoning process to help create a sense of place. "It's hard to do that with everything spread out in its own little buildings dotted around the campus," Lou said.
By clustering interdisciplinary activities within zones, the plan facilitates collaboration and interaction among students, faculty, and the community. The university's schools are also strategically positioned within the campus: social sciences, humanities, and arts are centrally located near the library to enliven the campus core, while sports and professional schools are located at the outer edge of campus to engage the town of Merced. Heavy utilities-based facilities are grouped along a compact utility corridor that encourages researchers to share expensive equipment that not every program can afford.
At the heart of the campus is Main Street—a central walkway that links to the Library & Information Technology Center, campus administration, academic core, canal walkways, and Lake Yosemite. Buildings lining Main Street have active ground level uses such as cafés and dining, student services, and large classrooms and lecture facilities to attract students.
"The students of this generation are different: the things they used to do at the student union, they do online. They have their mobile devices. And they also want to take online courses when they are just across the street from the campus," said Lou.
By concentrating a diversity of uses along Main Street, and locating undergraduate housing in the social heart, this wide pedestrian street encourages students to mingle and commune 24/7.
Back to Top