The School and Campus Issue of Landscape Architect and Specifier News saw many firms submit their projects for feature consideration. This project was not chosen for a Feature in the issue, but we at LandscapeArchitect.com thought the project deserved to be showcased online . . .
The new Paul and Alice Baker Center for Public Media (AZPM) is a state-of-the-art public media campus located within the University of Arizona's (UA) Tech Park at the Bridges. The new facility will provide the local community with a hub for diverse collaboration and support the education and training of UA students. The project scope consists of a new 59,000 SF state-of-the-art facility for AZPM current and future technical broadcast requirements, a flexible outdoor plaza, and series of desert-themed donor gardens.
What makes the AZPM project site special is that it provides an opportunity for multigenerational collaboration in the desert environment. Many of the AZPM outreach programs and events are geared towards students, families, and the local community. With a volunteer program primarily consisting of older individuals, the design team aimed to create connections between a diverse population. The shaded public plaza, located adjacent to the main building entry, is designed to be adaptive to various programmatic needs, such as an event venue, outdoor production, and community engagement. The large architectural canopy provides refuge from the desert sun, creating an ideal place to gather, learn, and connect with others.

 

Building upon the multigenerational collaboration, the design team looked to also connect users with their surrounding environment through a series of themed desert gardens. Landscape Designer, Cristal Castro, explains: "Our intent was to provide both donor and educational opportunities. The gardens were designed to have individual themes to allow for unique donor opportunities while also working together to tell a larger story of the beauty of the local flora and fauna."

Native and desert adaptive plant material were used to reduce water needs and attract local pollinators. The garden series begins at the drop-off, with the Riparian Garden, which celebrates the desert rain by highlighting a bioswale capturing hardscape run off. Following the drop-off area, the main Plaza Gardens welcomes visitors and features vertical cacti and accent planting for year-round displays of color and texture. From the shaded plaza, visitors can take trails through the Desert Butterfly Garden and experience the native pollinator habitat. The trails lead to areas of respite and connect to the public Kino Pathway east of the site. The gardens all feature varieties of sculptural cacti and accent planting providing texture and verticality, foot bridges highlighting site drainage and bioswales, decorative boulders emphasizing resting areas, and areas for art sculptures and donor recognition elements to be installed.

When asked what makes AZPM special, Project Landscape Architect, Dustin Simmons, said: "Designing an outdoor space that fosters community connection and allows diverse groups of people to gather, volunteer, and work together is a powerful way to bridge important gaps in people's lives. By creating a beautiful Sonoran desert garden where older individuals and students can share and learn from each other, we're not only enhancing that community connection but also promoting multigenerational learning and knowledge sharing. As landscape architects, we have the power to shape the outdoors in ways that inspire, educate, and connect people with nature and each other."


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