Academic Complex

The Sombrilla Plaza is the heart of the academic complex and all paseos originate there. The academic buildings define the edges of the paseos and frame the views to the rolling landscape. The design of the new master plan is intended to strengthen the organization of the academic complex.

The 1971 master plan placed all buildings in close proximity. Space planning standards at the time called for 126 gross square feet (GSF) per full-time student equivalent (FTSE). The plan depicted an ultimate build-out of 3,800,000 GSF for 30,000 FTSE in one location. The design was based upon the original planning principles for the campus, including establishment of views to areas of permanent open space. The entire academic complex could be walked in eight minutes.

By 1993, standards for space planning had been increased to 190 GSF per FTSE, necessitating a much larger development of 5,700,000 GSF for the same number of students. The master planning team had to consider several options to accommodate the larger academic complex. If additional floors were included in new buildings, more floor area could be placed within the bounds of the same eight-minute walk. The addition of more floors, however, would require more stairs and elevators and the vertical travel time would increase. This would reduce the time available to travel from building to building. Construction costs would increase, but the campus would not be more efficient. After reaching this conclusion, the planners looked at ways to continue the use of the original building height. There were two choices: to expand the campus beyond the size of an eight-minute walk, or to maintain the size of the original campus and to instead create a second area to the east. After careful assessment, the eastern expansion was selected as the best option.

The university anticipates that about 23,200 FTSE, equating to about 31,000 headcount students, will study at the 1604 Campus by the end of the planning period. This number is substantially higher than that used in the 2001 master plan because new growth projections indicate that the rapid population growth of South Texas and the THECB’s “Closing the Gaps” initiative will considerably increase enrollment at UTSA. The projections reflect a target of 43,000 students. Of that total, 12,000 will attend class at the Downtown Campus, leaving 31,000 students at the 1604 Campus.

Updated space calculations, based in part on the THECB Space Projection Model, indicate an allowance of about 163 gross square feet (GSF) per headcount student. This corresponds to 5,035,000 total GSF at the 1604 Campus. A major component of these numbers is research space. To accommodate UTSA’s goal of becoming a first-tier research institution, the university must build research, office, and support space totaling over 1.5 million GSF.

Currently, twelve major buildings are located at the academic complex. The Biotechnology, Sciences, and Engineering Building (BSE 1) is currently under construction. A second building, Biotechnology, Sciences, and Engineering Building 2 (BSE 2), is currently in design. By the end of the planning period, 1,970,000 GSF of academic space must be added to the campus, a 145% increase. The academic spaces include areas for teaching, libraries, office, research and support.

The design team studied three alternatives to accommodate this growth. Each alternative investigated a different response to the growth outlined by the projections.

Alternative 1 - Extension of the 2001 Plan

This alternative used the 2001 master plan alignment as a starting point, then extended that plan as necessary to include additional building sites. The open space shown in the 2001 plan was largely retained, but the increased housing totals required that some housing be placed offsite. As with all of the alternatives, some additional parking was located remotely.

Alternative 2 - Science/Research Concentration

UTSA’s intention to grow science, engineering, and research programs indicates that it is appropriate to create building alignments which focus on these uses. This alternative explored the possibility of creating a science and research core in east campus. The easternmost buildings of east campus were dedicated to science, engineering, and research uses, and the housing facility located nearby was used in part to house students in these programs. This alternative placed more facilities in east campus than the other two alternatives.

Alternative 3 - Environment/Open Space

One of the most admired qualities of the 1604 Campus is its natural setting. Additional space required by UTSA’s growth could negatively affect the open space on campus as new building sites eliminate previously open land. The intention of this alternative was to investigate possibilities to retain and even expand open land while still accommodating campus growth. As with both of the other plans, this plan also called for acquiring additional land for childcare and housing; unlike the others, this plan placed two building sites, parking, and some current West Campus functions off-campus as well.

The second alternative, the Science/Research Concentration, was chosen as the base for the master plan update. Several elements were also incorporated from the Environment/Open Space alternative, including the replacement of aging housing stock and preservation of open spaces.

Details of the Academic Plan

Two new buildings will be located on the South Paseo: BSE 2 and the Performing Arts Center. The first level service drive is shown extending between BSE 1 and BSE 2, then turning beneath BSE 2 and emerging on the west side of this building. The existing grade at the south side of the BSE 2 site is approximately two floors below the main paseo level. It is recommended that the paseos be extended to all new buildings on the south side of campus, and that elevators always be available to provide handicapped accessibility to this level.

The University Center (UC) expansion, including a 750-space parking structure, is located to the west of the Multidisciplinary Studies (MS) Building on the current location of Lot 9. A ballroom, adjacent retail spaces, and meeting rooms will face the West Paseo. Kitchen facilities and receiving areas should be located inside the facility. The second floor paseo that currently stops between the Science and MS buildings will be extended over the existing service drive along the entire length of the south façade of the UC expansion. The paseo extension will reduce the existing conflict between pedestrians and vehicular traffic at the MS Building. The extension will also give pedestrians the option of walking above the new parking garage entry. An elevator is shown at the terminus of the paseo, providing much improved handicapped accessibility from the west, adjacent to a major new drop-off area. Ground and second floor retail spaces along the paseos could be included in this building. Additional spaces may also be developed as part of this facility. Possible uses would include the Academic Learning Center or University Center functions.

A new thermal plant has been sited immediately to the west of the Biosciences Building. This plant, scheduled for completion in 2007, will be designed so that it may later be encapsulated in a parking garage. The south end of the parking garage will be situated over the thermal plant, and it will extend north to engage an extension of the paseo to the south of the future University Center expansion.

Over the next twenty-five years, the THECB space projection model indicates that the libraries should be expanded by over 300,000 square feet. Not all of this space needs to be in the main library building, obviously, and much of it may be located at the Downtown Campus. As soon as the administrative offices are relocated to the Main Building, the library will be expanded inside the existing building. More areas are required for reading spaces, active research areas, computer stations, and book storage. At some point in the future, UTSA may choose to employ a computer-driven automated book storage and retrieval system. Books and periodicals which are less often requested are placed into storage bins that are retrieved by a robotic system. The initial expense of this system would be offset by its high-density storage capacity. This system would significantly decrease the amount of building area necessary for shelving, reducing the required amount of library expansion. It may be possible to enclose the existing building arcade at the south side of the library and modify it for this use.

Extension of Campus to the East

The paseo system has been extended east with the new Main Building. It will be connected to East Campus by means of a dramatic pedestrian bridge that will span the connector parkway and UTSA Creek. The new buildings to the east of the bridge will be placed along a single paseo, with courtyards developed to either side of the pedestrian street.

UTSA will continue to experience rapid growth in its science, engineering, and research programs. One of the difficulties that many institutions face in growing these types of programs is that there is intense competition in recruitment of exceptional faculty members and students. UTSA will be constructing numerous new facilities, and the university has opportunities to design and site those facilities in ways that will aid in recruitment. The main core of new research, science, and engineering facilities will be centered around a commons in East Campus. Housing, retail, recreation, and academic/research space will surround both the commons and a plaza to the south of the paseo. This concentration will focus the activities of researchers and students in a particular area, which will create a much greater sense of community than more dispersed arrangements would. The proximity of working, living, and recreational environments is particularly attractive in an academic atmosphere, and will be a major recruiting point for UTSA.

As with the original campus buildings, the paseo height is set one floor above grade, with building services located below. The grades at East Campus will allow even greater use of sub-paseo level space – parking, service drives, and infrastructure will be located beneath the paseo and buildings on the western side of East Campus. As the paseo extends eastward, the lower service level will terminate as the ground plane rises up to meet the paseo level.

The design of the new academic area to the east follows other guiding principles of the original plan. The building height and placement follows the original pattern of high-density construction, but additional floors may be added for office and lab space. The orientation of the buildings and courtyards will be rotated from true north so that all sides of the buildings and public spaces will receive sunlight at some time during each day, and the building locations and paseo plantings will provide shade. Views of the open landscape to the south and to the north will be maintained from East Campus. The new buildings and public spaces are organized according to a thirty-foot planning module. The north-south connector parkway will facilitate ease of circulation to the core campus and new areas.

Campus Parkway and Bridge

The development of the campus parkway with its north-south connector road, first proposed in the 1993 master plan, is an essential component of the updated master plan. It will serve as a front door for the university on both the north and south sides and will greatly improve circulation and wayfinding. The roadway will lead to parking areas, to the administration areas, to other internal roadways, and to new developments on the eastern side of campus. Development of this roadway will enable the closure of the existing roadway that crosses the West Paseo near the Convocation Center, allowing the extended West Paseo to be used exclusively for pedestrian use.

The gentle sweep of the parkway was designed to create views of the rolling hills and the academic buildings. The entries at UTSA Boulevard and at the Loop 1604 access road should be well lit and beautifully planted, with good signage. Selected areas of the landscape will be cleared to improve views to various natural features and buildings from the parkway.

UTSA Creek is located directly to the east of the roadway. The north half of this creek bed is normally dry. A series of lakes will be created at the southern end of this creek bed, which often contains standing or gently flowing water. The lakes will become a wonderful visual amenity for the campus. A walking/running trail will be located nearby, and one of the picnic pavilions will be placed adjacent to it. This system of lakes, as well as the lake next to the Special Events Center and the chain of lakes along Maverick Creek, will become part of a campus-wide system of stormwater detention and filtration.

A cable-supported pedestrian bridge will span over the roadway and creek bed. The tall bridge tower, which may also serve as a bell tower, will be an icon for the campus. It will be easily visible from both Loop 1604 and IH-10, and will become a marker on the skyline for the 1604 Campus.