San Gabriel Campus

Austin Community College

The Leander campus Phase 1 is an entire college housed in a single building. With one face to the community that will surround it, Phase 1 is the anchor that the campus will build around. The project is LEED Gold certified.

The Austin Community College District acquired 100 acres of land near a MetroRail station in Leander, Texas. They intend to develop and construct a new Transit Oriented Campus on this site to expand their reach for higher education instruction. The first phase of the project focused on the master plan for the site, and the creation of the building standards. Phase two of the project is developing spaces to provide the following facilities:

Classrooms and Laboratories
Instruction and office space for Continuing Education and Adult Education
Offices for Faculty and Staff
Library and Media Center
Administrative offices
Building support and service spaces as needed to support the campus

Client Austin Community College
Category Higher Education
Services Master Planning, Programming, Architectural Design, Interior Design, Contract Administration
Awards Metal Chairman's Association: National Chairman's Award for Education
Associated Builders & Contractors - National: 2018 Excellence in Construction Award
Associated Builders & Contractors - Central Texas Chapter: 2018 Excellence in Construction Award, Best of Best Award
TASA/TASB Design Awards: Design, Sustainability, Planning
Project Team

Jessica Molter
Frances Brooks

Ranch to Urban

The beginning of an urban campus

The high-growth potential of Leander, access to public transportation, the Transit-Oriented Development, and the chance to become the cultural heart of a new community, made Leander an attractive opportunity for a new Austin Community College campus. So, in 2010, the district purchased a 100-acre parcel within the TOD and adjacent to the CapMetro Rail Station.

The architectural drivers for this master plan included an authentically Leander experience, an iconic campus inspired by the ACC brand, an urban feel with low-to-no maintenance, shade- and place-making considerations, and creating a hip student destination.

The San Gabriel Campus master plan created by Pfluger Architects and SmithGroup JJR places the college’s academic core at the western boundary of a new planned community. The master plan also has deeper-than-average setbacks to make the campus walkable and conducive to alternative methods of transportation.

Pfluger has maintained and facilitated open, honest communication with our team throughout the planning, design and construction phases.

Brian Morrow, Project Manager, Austin Community College

Considering future enrollment at 12,000 students, the campus would require nearly 1-million square feet of building space to support the necessary classrooms, labs, and services. Other considerations included requisite parking, future recreation space, stormwater requirements, and “placemaking” elements that would make this campus unique.

Connecting the campus to the community was a priority. The team began by massing potential building arrangements that would accommodate the required square footage to identify a holistic campus experience that reflected community connectivity. Approaches, gateways, transitions, and decision points were identified and examined to maximize a seamless transition from neighborhood to campus core.

ACC has always tried to lead by example with their commitment to sustainable practices. For the San Gabriel Campus, they asked our team to consider a holistic approach to water conservations, which then drove the landscape design. 100% of site stormwater run-off is captured in cisterns, rain gardens, and vegetated filter strips then repurposed to irrigate the native landscaping. The building also has state-of-the-art HVAC and controls, LED lighting, and rooftop photovoltaic arrays. These strategies add up to an energy model 40% over baseline, with 9% renewable energy.

The building’s environmentally sensitive construction and design earned it LEED Gold certification. It is also home to the most extensive rain garden approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and a certified Monarch Waystation.

With inspiration from ACC, the on-site creek, the area’s ranching history, and the light rail stop’s TOD overlay, the San Gabriel campus is a tangible link between urban and rural, the past and the future. As the community grows, so will the campus, but the master plan will ensure that new construction will stay true to the heritage of the land on which it stands.