UC Santa Cruz Kresge College

Kresge College at the University of California Santa Cruz had a goal to modernize and expand the campus, increase its residential capacity, improve its circulation and connections to the larger university, and replace its infrastructure systems, all while preserving its strong legacy and conserving its rich natural landscape.

With iconic architecture nestled within a redwood forest, the site’s significant topographic and ecological challenges underscored the need for a master infrastructure plan that would not only address strategies for Kresge’s stormwater harvesting and reuse. It would also provide UCSC with a long-term roadmap for an integrated campus-wide system, and give them greater visibility into the way they’d need to allocate resources in the future, optimizing their investments.

Sherwood’s infrastructure includes storage capacity for more than 100,000 gallons of stormwater that is collected from Kresge College’s roofs and hardscapes and then treated as non-potable water before it’s conveyed for reuse for irrigation and toilet flushing within all new and existing buildings. Pedestrian walkways have also been widened and the existing runnel system enhanced, integrating circulation paths with the topography, and facilitating a natural process of collecting and filtering stormwater runoff for reuse. The prominent pedestrian bridge – a main artery between Kresge and the UCSC campus – was also enhanced and modernized with a structure suitable for the conveyance of water as well as pedestrian circulation.

Following Sherwood’s master infrastructure plan, over time there will be a buildout of a comprehensive conveyance system that connects to the larger university campus, empowering UCSC to take a big step forward in its sustainability goals.