In celebration of its centennial, the University of Texas El Paso commissioned a Campus Transformation Project to reimagine the car-oriented campus dominated by asphalt, sloped lawns, and clipped hedges into a universally accessible, pedestrian-oriented campus linked to its desert ecosystem. This project transformed the 11.5-acre campus into a place that fosters biodiversity and celebrates the beauty of the desert. The project introduces a network of walkways, natively planted arroyos, and green spaces to promote connectivity, inspire outdoor exploration, and provide ecosystem services. The project earned the world’s first Sustainable SITES v2 certification, establishing a new standard of design for civic landscapes in desert environments.

Featured Work: The University of Texas at El Paso Transformation, El Paso, Texas

Adam Barbe (Photographer), Landscape Architecture Magazine Sept 2023 Vol 113 No 9