Lake | Flato Architects

ASU Polytechnic Campus

ASU Polytechnic Campus
© Bill Timmerman

ASU POLYTECHNIC CAMPUS

Lake|Flato Architects, RSP Architects

CLIENT
Arizona State University

PHOTOGRAPHS
Bill Timmerman

LOCATION
Mesa, Arizona, USA

CATEGORY
Institute

ASU Polytechnic Campus
© Bill Timmerman

Text description provided by architect.

The design for the ASU Polytechnic Campus transformed a decommissioned airbase into an inviting pedestrian campus that celebrates the desert landscape and created a new identity for the program.

Fourteen acres of asphalt and concrete were removed to transform the site into a desert landscaped mall.

ASU Polytechnic Campus
© Bill Timmerman
ASU Polytechnic Campus
© Bill Timmerman
ASU Polytechnic Campus
© Bill Timmerman

Storm water is slowed, captured in detention basins throughout the mall, and used to nourish the landscape.

The strategy minimized the load on the existing detention basin and established an indigenous landscape as the heart of the new campus.

By segmenting the program into five buildings, the architects formed four shady courtyards linked by portals and arcades, creating a cohesive pedestrian campus.

ASU Polytechnic Campus
© Bill Timmerman
ASU Polytechnic Campus
© Bill Timmerman

The three largest buildings turn their sides to the east and west protecting the courtyards and atria from the seasonal monsoons.

These shady, open-air atria provide environmentally sensitive social spaces that maximize visibility, daylighting, and the sense of community while minimizing energy usage by significantly eliminating interior conditioned circulation space.

ASU Polytechnic Campus
© Bill Timmerman
ASU Polytechnic Campus
© Bill Timmerman

Purposeful environmental strategies such as narrow building sections, shading devices and solar orientation allow 90% of the spaces to be effectively daylit, reduce thermal loads and contribute to a LEED Gold rating.

Exposed building systems and regional material palette such as locally sourced ground faced block and perforated corrugated weathered steel reinforce the straightforward philosophy of the campus.

ASU Polytechnic Campus
© Bill Timmerman

Lake | Flato Architects
T +1 210 2273335
Lake | Flato Architects
311 3rd St, San Antonio, TX 78205, United States
RSP Architects Ltd.
T +1 480 8892000
RSP Architects Ltd.
502 S College Ave # 203, Tempe, AZ 85281, United States