Palo Alto College

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
In 1987 Palo Alto College was opened for the Alamo Community College District in San Antonio, Texas. The College is located on the near south side of the city, a predominately working class neighborhood and an underdeveloped area that had virtually stopped growing since the 1940s.

The first phase of the college campus consisted of 150,000 square feet of space which includes administrative and business offices, art classrooms, library, fine arts, student facilities and physical education. The contextual model for this plan was heavily influenced by the four historic Spanish missions in San Antonio. Both the site plan and the materials were influenced by the walled compounds of these missions. Within the Mission’s compound walls there were clusters of small buildings, usually one-story, organized around a large open space with the most predominate building being the chapel. The stylized perimeter wall was penetrated in several points to create entranceways.

Palo Alto College contains a highly imaginative use of inexpensive materials which had to be used to create a unique design within the inevitable low budgets of community colleges. The low cost of the building system allowed the architects to put more amenities in the interior hallways and public spaces. These spaces include limited theatrical space, lecture halls, library administration and library stacks that could be expanded to 300% of the original design.

The building is designed in a regional character reflecting the architectural influences of the south side of San Antonio. The architect believes that every building should represent the macro and microclimates of the location for which it is designed. The project was completed for $12,700,000 (in 1987 dollars). It received the 1987 “Excellent in Architecture Award” from the San Antonio Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. It was also featured in “Architecture” magazine (the publication of the American Institute of Architects) and “Texas Architects”.