Narrative:
A key early design decision was to restrict all construction within the previously developed campus footprint and not encroach up the hillsides of the site. This required extensive planning to optimize their use of space; new buildings were built on infill sites or areas created by deconstructing existing buildings. This resulted in a denser campus with two-story buildings replacing a smattering of outdated one-story structures.
This constraint has allowed the creek to retain its current, natural connections to the watershed, and its role as the school’s natural eastern border. The creek is one of the most beloved features of the school, though portions were eroding heavily and other sections were contained within concrete channels. The concrete channel lining was removed and the creek redesigned to reduce erosion, restore natural hydrologic processes, and create naturally diverse riparian and wetland habitats with native planting along the creek corridor. Ecological analysis showed that many different ecological niches exist within the riparian environment, often depending on such subtleties as the depth of soil relative to the high water line. The redesign of the creek has allowed these different ecological zones to flourish
Land Use & Site Ecology
source: http://www.aiatopten.org