As part of a new campus master plan rollout, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) facilities management department in 2010 engaged us to design the Bauerle Road Parking Garage and Visitor Center. We recognized the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the central campus academic neighborhood. Additionally, we proposed an innovative solution for improved ADA accessibility with a pedestrian bridge to the Main Building. Through its scale, timeless architectural expression, and thoughtful site plan, the structure joins the north quadrant as an integral campus building.
UTSA Main Campus, located northwest of downtown San Antonio, is traditionally a commuter campus. Over the past decades, surface parking lots have expanded with the student population to become so large that they are connected to central campus by shuttle bus service. Parking structures on the central campus are a viable solution to keeping pace with continued growth. Garages add convenient vehicle parking in a more efficient footprint, and, critically, offer opportunities to improve ADA access continually.
Beyond providing 1200 well-located parking spaces, the Bauerle Road Parking Garage and Visitor Center functions as a gateway to the north side of the UTSA Main Campus. The first building constructed under the new Campus Master Plan, the design incorporates a Visitor Center and key student and staff amenities on the ground floor. The architecture wraps the parking deck in a substantial façade, visually organizing the massive scale of the structure. In contrast, views into parking decks are filtered with metal screens and an airy trellis structure. Overall and by intent, the architecture reads as a campus building, not a garage.
Key urban design gestures help knit the large building into the campus layout, adapting its faces to address the context of each street side. At the west elevation, a new UTSA Visitor Center and other departments have arcaded storefronts and access to street level. The ground level also accommodates parking offices, a coffee kiosk, and a Spirit store. At the second level, the strategic addition of an elevated bridge connects to the Main Building arcade, facilitating improved ADA access to this sector of campus. An additional coffee kiosk on the second level is conveniently located at the access point to the elevated bridge.
Location | San Antonio
Client | University of Texas at San Antonio
Construction Cost | $23.9 million
Completion | July 2012
Size | 430,000 SF / 1200 cars
Services | Full Architectural
