A Sustainable Front Door to Stanford University
The design situates the new building in a prominent context – corner of the Oval and Main Quad–enhancing the front door of the campus and contributing to a variety of improvements including Lomita Mall, Jane Stanford Way, and the new Science Quad. CoDa carefully integrates several large heritage trees that anchor the site and connect the design to the historic oak groves that are iconic to the Stanford landscape. The landscape weaves connections between new and existing buildings through and around mature, native oak trees.
Garden courtyards and seating nooks provide a variety of experiences and functional environments for the building’s visitors, students, and faculty. New planting complements and blends with the existing palettes to integrate the site into its campus home – a unique identity for the building’s courtyards.
The exterior environments echo the interior program to draw people into the landscape to find places for reflection, study and gathering. Specifically, the South Garden Court presents an opportunity to be used as a multipurpose space for outdoor teaching and events, as well as accommodates student circulation into the below grade facilities. The space is designed for both individual and group study as well as provides a lush backdrop for interior study spaces.
Image Credit: Bruce Damonte
The new addition to the Stanford campus contributes to the continued active pedestrian corridor across the university. The Computing and Data Science Building could be said to have two fronts, two sides, and no back, with active outdoor areas on all sides. The project introduces a new kind of academic open space — an interdisciplinary hub for computation and data research at a prominent and important social site on campus.
