Planning Process
The work of the master planning effort was divided into two phases: the collection of background information necessary to create a master plan and the design phase. During the first phase, the design team compiled information on existing conditions and planning principles and helped generate growth projections as well as a building program for the new master plan. These efforts were used as a guide for the design phase.
The design phase started with a design charette held at the 1604 Campus. At the meeting, the group addressed the issues of growth, planning principles, and current conditions Generalized design strategies were put forth, and the design team was charged with developing alternatives based upon those concepts. At a follow-up session, the conceptual schemes were presented and a preferred scheme was chosen. This scheme has been developed into the final master plan.
In addition to the master plan, this document includes architectural and landscape guidelines. The guidelines are to be used by designers to relate new development to the existing buildings and landscape of the campus. The appendix includes the full mechanical, electrical and plumbing report as well as the entire 1604 Campus Phase I Report. It contains more information on history, statistics, planning principles, current conditions, and the building program.
Summary of the First Planning Phase
Campus Location, Boundaries, and Neighboring Development
The 1604 Campus is located approximately 16 miles north-northwest of downtown San Antonio. The campus is bordered on the north by Loop 1604, a freeway loop around the San Antonio metropolitan area. Babcock Road passes along the western edge of the campus. Access along the southern edge is via UTSA Boulevard, which connects on the east with Interstate 10 and on the west with Babcock Road. Valero Way forms the eastern edge of the campus. The land immediately surrounding the 1604 Campus is generally held in large blocks. To the north, the La Cantera Development Corporation has constructed a major hotel, office, and housing development as well as the Six Flags Fiesta Texas amusement park and two golf courses. A 1,000,000 square foot shopping, office and housing project is now under construction. The Valero Energy Corporation’s headquarters lie to the east, and residential and commercial developments are closing in on the southern and western edges of the campus.
Site Characteristics
With the exception of a few small hills, the rolling site rises gently to the north. The campus contains two areas located within a 100-year flood plain. The first of these areas occurs along Babcock Road at the western edge of the site. This area drains into Maverick Creek, a normally dry creek bed. The second drainage, called UTSA Creek, is located approximately two-thirds of the way to the east of the site. It drains into Leon Creek, which runs just to the east and south of the campus. The slopes range from 0% to 25% with the flatter areas located in a broad band just to the west of the center of the campus. The steepest slopes occur at two small hills in the southwest portion of the site, named Roadrunner Hill, and along the major natural drainage areas. The site appears to have been at one time densely covered by cedar trees, although some of the cedar was cleared before UTSA acquired the land. Live oak trees are fairly uniformly scattered throughout undeveloped areas of the campus.
The campus is located on the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer. This classification requires the preparation of a Water Pollution Abatement Plan (WPAP) which has recently been filed with the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC). UTSA is now required to collect stormwater run-off from new paved areas and buildings. This water is then filtered to remove a large portion of the suspended solids. Twenty-five acres in the northeast corner of campus have been set aside as a recharge area for the aquifer, but may be used for recreational purposes. Geologists have identified sinkholes and a cave adjacent to this area which contain an endangered species of the karst invertebrate group. The extent of the impact has yet to be determined, but the master plan provisionally calls for the restriction of development in the area around the caves and for construction of barriers to protect the caves from intrusion.
Built Environment
The 1604 Campus has distinct precincts based upon use which were developed through a master planning effort at the inception of the campus. The academic complex is centrally located and situated on a small hill. The residential zone has been built in two areas west of the academic complex, with a dormitory and new apartment-like housing units to the northwest and apartments to the southwest. Athletic facilities and recreational fields are located to the west of the academic complex, between the housing areas. Roadrunner Hill, also located west of the academic complex, is too steeply sloped for athletic fields and has been designated as an open space area. The northwest corner of the site contains a collection of buildings known as West Campus that includes ceramics and metal sculpture studios, animal labs, and various support facilities. The southeast corner of the site, which has rolling hills, a creek bed, and good tree cover, has been designated as permanent open space. Parking is located at the periphery of the academic complex and adjacent to buildings in other areas of campus. The appendix contains a photo and description of all major buildings.
Guiding Principles of Design
Arleigh Templeton, UTSA's first president, called for a new approach to the planning of the UTSA campus. The UT System's ability to undertake an approximately 750,000 square foot construction project and its associated infrastructure provided an unusual opportunity to envision the new university as a coherent, singular whole.
The planners of the 1604 Campus elected to emphasize the continuous nature of the campus. It was envisioned as a whole, not as a series of interruptible, periodic events. A three-dimensional planning grid was established that also applied to the proportions of courtyards and major walkways. A campus of high-density low-rise buildings was created. This allowed the planners to permanently set the locations of open spaces and buildings. As part of this concept, vehicular traffic was separated from pedestrian spaces by placing building services below grade and by providing parking at the perimeter of the academic complex.
An important benefit of the higher density was that it allowed the preservation of undisturbed areas of open landscape. From the beginning, it was felt that the 600-acre site provided a natural and beautiful setting for the campus and that land and native vegetation were almost as important as the buildings themselves.
The original master plan emphasized the need for flexibility, adaptability, and interchangeability at every level. This concept of flexibility called for a building module and structural system that could accommodate virtually any teaching function. At UTSA, the goal was to apply a uniform building system throughout the campus and to create an architectural identity for the entire campus rather than to create individual buildings as independent monuments. The sameness of the original buildings has come under some criticism over the years, and newer buildings have added more color, materials and dynamic forms to the mix. Guidelines have long called for the use of plantings, shading elements, art projects, and color for building features to provide visual interest and pedestrian comfort. Some art projects have been added, and designers have been encouraged to provide a variety of hardscape materials, planting areas, and shading in the design of new facilities. The arcade ceilings of the original buildings were repainted with three different colors to provide warmth and variety.
The organizing principles of the campus follow the 1573 New World City Building Regulations of Spanish King Philip V, known as the Law of the Indies. These rules included organizing streets around a central courtyard, providing building arcades at the street level, and rotating the street grid from true north so that sunlight reaches all faces of the plazas and buildings at some time during the day. Academic buildings are located around a system of open spaces comprised of a central plaza, known as the Sombrilla Plaza, smaller plazas, and a system of pedestrian streets known as paseos. Paseos were developed as the primary arteries of the campus. They also serve as protected view corridors to link the campus to the landscape. The paseos were envisioned as having trees, sitting places, places to purchase books and supplies, outdoor study areas, and places to have a snack or to visit. Bridges and sunshades were used to promote variety and to make the paseos more comfortable and friendly. The original master plan and the subsequent update envisioned the extension of the paseo system to athletic facilities and to new academic areas.
Another original planning concept for the academic complex was to limit its size to a distance that could be walked in eight minutes. Allowing an additional minute leaving and entering each building, students would be able to get from class to class anywhere on campus in ten minutes.  An average walking speed of three hundred feet per minute creates a 1700-foot by 1700-foot diamond having a 2400-foot diagonal, and the campus was designed to fit within these limits. Typical building heights of three to four stories, with large classrooms located near the paseo level, were used to make vertical circulation very efficient. Vehicular service was placed below the pedestrian level, and pedestrians generally do not cross vehicular streets once inside the academic complex.
The cast-in-place and precast concrete panels of the first buildings were meant to tie the buildings to the landscape and to the building traditions of the region. The warm tone of the concrete reflects the color of the limestone rock outcroppings found throughout the area. The tradition of concrete and masonry construction in San Antonio and the availability of high quality craftsmanship contributed to its selection. Newer buildings such as the Business Building have used stone and painted stucco systems to harmonize with the color of the original buildings.
The two major principles of landscape design in the original plan were to maintain portions of the campus as permanent open space and to apply principles of xeriscaping. The open spaces were to include two small lakes. The lakes would be both scenic amenities as well as basins for rainwater collection and filtration. Views to open areas from academic areas were established to ensure a permanent connection between the natural environment and the academic complex. Plant materials were to be botanically compatible with the existing landscape. Drought tolerance and low maintenance characteristics were important.
Challenges for the Master Plan
In the more than thirty years since the first master plan was completed, state standards for academic space per student have increased by 60 percent. According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), UTSA currently has a significant deficit of space per student compared to state averages. Because of both this deficit and recent rapid growth, the university has been very active in the planning and construction of new buildings. In order to attain flagship status, UTSA will have to build additional space not only to eliminate the existing space deficit, but to provide additional facilities for an increased student population as well. Teaching, research, library, support and staff areas all must be expanded. Additionally, as UTSA’s retention rate of existing students continues to increase, space needs will increase accordingly.
A second challenge will be to create a more active and friendly campus. Students, faculty, and staff have all asked for new activity centers on campus ranging from additional recreational facilities to an expanded University Center. Even though there are significant retail areas being developed close to the university, the presence of more retail and food outlets on campus would encourage people to remain on campus. Participants at planning workshops for the 2001 master plan asked for more architectural and landscape amenities such as shaded and landscaped courtyards and tree-lined paseos. Evening functions were also considered very important. A special events center and a performing arts center would provide venues for more cultural activities and would allow UTSA to reach out to more residents of the city. The university also intends to house up to 20 percent of the student population on or near campus. This will make UTSA more appealing to students who want to live away from home, and a better alternative for students who live too far away to commute.
A third challenge will be to improve traffic flow, parking, wayfinding, and connections to the city. Today, most people drive to the campus. There are three entries on the north side and four to the south. Additional entries will be needed on the east, south and west. For safety, traffic lights should be installed at all major entries, existing and new. Although there is parking on both the north and south sides of the academic complex, it is very difficult to drive from one side of the campus to the other. Today, there is only one roadway that connects the two areas, and it is a convoluted path. Even though most students, staff, and faculty live south of the campus, approximately half of them drive to Loop 1604 to enter from the north because it is more convenient for them to park there. One of the planning principles from the 1993 master plan was to create a parkway which will link the north and south halves of the campus. The connector parkway will establish two main entrances for the university and will allow easy access to many different facilities. It will allow more people to enter from UTSA Boulevard and to have the freedom to choose where to park. A connector parkway will also greatly improve wayfinding.
As the facilities grow, the existing VIA Metropolitan Transit bus stop may need to be supplemented by a second stop. Should light-rail transit be developed in San Antonio, a location should be established for a major stop on the campus.
Pedestrian traffic to off-campus locations has not been significant in the past. Future developments such as a proposed off-campus student housing complex south of UTSA Boulevard and the new shopping mall on the north side of Loop 1604 may result in an increase in pedestrian traffic. UTSA should create provisions for handicapped accessibility at its perimeter intersections and other areas with appropriate traffic control. On-campus bicycle traffic is likely to increase as more areas are developed and more on-campus housing is established. Bicycle traffic from the city is also likely to increase during the life of this master plan because a long-range goal of the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department is to create linear parks along waterways such as Leon Creek.
The large building program and required parking create a fourth challenge for the master plan: to develop the site in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner. Fortunately, the high density of the original campus has preserved large undisturbed land areas. Continuing this system of high-density development in combination with some structured parking will improve the campus efficiency and maintain areas of open space. The TNRCC now requires the collection of rainwater runoff for filtration prior to release. The filtration process is often accomplished by letting the water flow over vegetative strips. This can be done at the recreation fields and in some preserved open space. Construction of the two small lakes, shown on previous master plans, will also help with this important environmental concern. UTSA is already upgrading facilities to conserve water and electricity, and university officials have expressed a desire to work with the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) and the TNRCC on other conservation issues.
Building Program
The university has developed statistics for growth of the institution. It is anticipated that the number of students will increase from the current 24,665 students (by headcount) to 43,000 students in the future. Of that total, 31,000 students are projected to attend classes at the 1604 Campus, and 12,000 students are projected to attend classes at the Downtown Campus. By the end of this master plan period, approximately 30% of the students who attend class at the Downtown Campus will also attend class part-time at the 1604 Campus. This is a substantial decrease from the current 70% and will be achieved because more programs at the Downtown Campus will be self-sufficient in the coming years.
One of the biggest changes in the next twenty-five years will be the substantial increase in the percentage of graduate students (masters and doctoral). Currently, graduate students account for 7.6% of the student body. The university anticipates that eventually 15% of the student body will be in graduate school. This change will have a large positive impact on UTSA’s goal of becoming a flagship institution and a university of first choice.
The increased student population and an existing shortage of building space will require the construction of approximately 1,618,000 assignable square feet (ASF) of teaching, library, office, and support space at the 1604 Campus. Approximately 840,000 ASF of research space will be needed as well. Housing at the 1604 Campus is projected to increase to 6,200 beds.
New athletics facilities will include a soccer stadium, a track and field stadium with an adjacent throwing field, relocated baseball and softball fields, an expansion of the Convocation Center, a football practice field, and an academic learning center. A new special events center will accommodate 10,000 to 12,000 spectators.
In addition to the new Recreation/Wellness Center and a future second phase, Campus Recreation will acquire four new softball fields, eight multi-purpose fields, several miles of running/walking trails, sand volleyball courts, and outdoor pavilions ranging in capacities from 50 to 350 people.
The library will expand within the John Peace Library when other departments relocate, and the development of an area for high-density mechanized book storage is a possibility for the future. Computer use will continue to expand.
A new ballroom facility with retail and meeting areas will augment the facilities currently available at the University Center. This facility is to be connected to a parking structure.
A performing arts center will include a 750-1000 seat theater and an auditorium for approximately 2,500 people.
Parking capacity will be expanded by over 2,800 spaces for general use and an additional 1,700 spaces for on-campus residential use.
See the appendix for greater detail and other program components of the master plan.
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