Our multi-disciplinary team was chosen to help create a new vision for the 600-acre UT Permian Basin campus in Odessa. The master plan focuses on the enhancement of the campus’ native ecological story prior to it becoming a West Texas ranch dotted with oil wells. We established new entries and signage to the campus, redesigned the existing four-acre quad, developed the Bright Stars Memorial, and created a trail system that follows the path of water through the site, connecting students and community residents to the native ecosystems. Floodwaters from adjacent low-lying streets are slowed and captured on campus to create ephemeral playa lakes and arroyos, which in turn help establish a shortgrass prairie ecosystem, the habitat of native wildlife like the Northern Harrier and Burrowing Owls.

The team proposed a plan that creates different programmatic precincts within the large 4-acre quad using structures; a judicious lawn; an open plaza anchored by a sculpture of UT Permian Basin’s mascot, Fiona the falcon; outdoor dining tables; and native prairie gardens. New monumentation creates gateways into campus that are highly visible from the adjacent busy arterial roads. Together with the team, TELA produced fundraising graphics to help convey the design vision. At present the project is moving into schematic design.