BEST MAINTAINED URBAN UNIVERSITY GROUNDS 2006
Grand Award
Best Urban University Landscape- 2006
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132
Award Sponsored by:
Grounds Management Green Star Awards
Professional Grounds Management Society
720 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
http://www.pgms.org/greenstarawards.htm
Overview of the Campus
San Francisco State University is a campus of 134 acres, including some recently purchased adjacent apartment complexes, and situated in the southwestern corner of San Francisco. Adjacent to a main civic arterial and transit lines, this urban University welcomes about 30,000 individuals each day. As the quality of the campus grounds form the first and last impression of the University, we strive to maintain the quality of a personal garden, rather than an institutional landscape, giving each visitor a sense of ownership.
The centerpiece of campus activity is the quad, where expanses of lawns circled by majestic trees provide a special space for serene contemplation, lounging, and student events. We carefully maintain our trees to enhance safety and beauty throughout the campus. Our planting displays are divided into three categories- focal color [intense floral quality year round at campus and building entries, main intersections, etc.], highlight- landscape beds with interspersed color coming and going through the year, and garden- richly textured plantings using shades of foliage color and variety of texture to demonstrate the gardeners art. Sculpture on campus adds special opportunities to coordinate plantings. Finally, we maintain three athletic fields subject to intensive use, one of which is a sand-based system which requires detailed daily care to maintain turf density and performance under difficult conditions.
