While San Diego State University isn’t hard to find on a map, it can be hard to tell where the campus starts and stops when driving around the neighborhood. As part of the Destination SDSU initiative, a number of larger and smaller projects have been designed to make the campus more inviting for students and visitors by creating a sense of place in the community. The main gateway was constructed in 2016 at Montezuma Road and Campanile Drive.

As a member of the design team, KTUA provided landscape architectural services from concept through construction administration. The design elements are part architecture, part structure, part signage and part landscape – all respecting the context of the historic Mission Revival architecture of campus, and creating a vision that says, “you have arrived”.

Critical to maintain the rapid design and construction schedule were well coordinated and strategic reviews and approvals with the campus and City of San Diego; a proactive communication plan with the community to resolve any public inconveniences, safety concerns or issues associated with construction in their neighborhood; and a collaborative design and construction team approach that addressed constructability review while maintaining design integrity and intent. Since construction of the first gateway, the campus has seen an increase in donations to fund further Destination SDSU improvements.