UA News

The unique plaza and laboratory at the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture sets new standards for water conservation and use in the Sonoran Desert.

The Underwood Family Sonoran Landscape Laboratory at the University of Arizona has won a prestigious 2010 National Design Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects, or ASLA.

The awards represent the best in landscape architecture around the world. The Underwood Lab was one of only 12 winning entrants in the general design category.  

A jury of designers and editors considered a record 618 entries from 20 countries, selecting 49 projects for distinction. The awards ceremony will take place Sept. 13 during the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO in Washington, D.C. and is sponsored by Firestone Specialty Products.

According to the ASLA jury, "This project shows us everything that we should find in a university landscape. Not a blurred interpretation of 'native' but rather a commitment to accuracy. An innovative and progressive incorporation of natural systems and social spaces. Blending the functional aspects with social spaces is a rare commitment to this level of honesty."

The Underwood Lab forms the striking new south plaza and entryway to the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture addition. It also serves as an outdoor classroom, offering strategies for water harvesting, climate regulation and ventilation, recycling, urban wildlife habitat and livable human space.

An 11,600-gallon cistern collects rainfall from the roof, greywater from drinking fountains and condensation produced by the building's HVAC system to support the plaza's garden. The garden includes five native vegetation zones represented in the Sonoran Desert.

The system collects about 230,000 gallons of water, more than 80 percent of what is needed to establish the garden during its first five years. Afterward, potable water consumption for the garden is expected to drop to almost zero.

One key reason that makes the ASLA award meaningful is that the Underwood Lab was designed and built using no money from the budget for the building addition.

"This is a very great honor for a project that can not only distinguish itself for its design but also that it was completely constructed from the generosity of those who support the college," said Ron Stoltz, CALA associate dean and director of the UA School of Landscape Architecture and Planning. "Also, the Underwood Family 'Garden' would not be the success it is without the extraordinary and enthusiastic cooperation of our on-campus facilities construction and maintenance units."

Stoltz said the lab will generate ideas and strategies that will likely influence future construction and retrofitting projects not only on the UA campus but in other arid-land communities where water use is a key issue.

The lab is named after Richard and Robert Underwood and their family, who operate AAA Landscape of Tucson and Phoenix. Christy Ten Eyck and Todd Briggs of Phoenix/Austin-based Ten Eyck Landscape Architects were the principal designers for the project.