ULI Global Awards for Excellence: UC Davis West Village–Davis, California

Focusing on environmental responsiveness and place making, this mixed-use neighborhood is also the largest planned net-zero-energy community.

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Scenes from the Village Square. (Jeff Peters on behalf of Studio E Architects)

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The square’s landscaping incorporates a bioswale. (SWA Group)

Developer: West Village Community Partnership
Design and consultants: Studio E Architects, MVE Institutional, Lim Chang Rohling & Associates, Moore Rubell Yudell, SWA Group, Cunningham Engineering

Related: Register for the 2015 ULI Global Awards for Excellence | Other Recent Winners | More Information About the Award

UC Davis West Village is a mixed-use neighborhood that is also the largest planned net-zero-energy community, demonstrating planning for environmental sustainability at the community scale.

Located on 130 acres (53 ha) of land on the campus of the University of California at Davis adjacent to the core campus, West Village focuses particularly on three key principles: community, environmental responsiveness, and place making.

In addition to providing new housing, West Village is a thriving community that includes commercial space, education facilities, and recreational amenities. With its network of greenbelts, bike lanes, and shuttle service, the village connects to the surrounding neighborhood and core campus facilities.

Environmentally, West Village has demonstrated sustainable living through design. Net-zero-energy strategies rethink both energy demand and supply. On the demand side, the buildings are designed to consume 50 percent less energy than California building code standards. On the supply side, the buildings operate on a four-megawatt photovoltaic system, which is designed to meet the annual energy consumption needs for the apartments as well as for the commercial uses.

The site and buildings are designed to maximize water conservation, and buildings are oriented for optimal solar control and access to cooling breezes. Spaces in the community include a student recreation center, which measures 16,000 square feet (1,500 sq m), and the first uHub, a university innovation center designed to spur connections between campus research and entrepreneurs. In partnership with Sacramento City College, UC Davis is creating the first community college center on a University of California campus.

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Mixed-use buildings surround the square. (Frederic Larson on behalf of West Village Community Partnership, LLC)

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(West Village Community Partnerships, LLC)

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A sundial clock tower. (Jeff Peters on behalf of Studio E Architects)

Daniel Lobo is the Senior Director of Awards, Education and Advisory Group, for the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit education and research institute that focuses on issues of land use, real estate and urban development. The mission of the Institute is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Prior to joining ULI Mr. Lobo was an independent consultant working as project manager for a variety of urban and research initiatives, in particular facilitating open cultural urban interventions internationally, and new media research. Earlier he worked extensively as project manager for the Center for Communities by Design at the American Institute of Architects, and as Urban Designer at Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill LLP. He holds a MSc City Design and Social Science from the London School of Economics, and a BA (Honors) from the School of Architecture and Interior Design at London Metropolitan University.
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