A WATER-EFFICIENT SCHOOL CAMPUS EXPANSION DOUBLES OUTDOOR PROGRAMMING SPACES
All Saints Day School elevates its athletic and education curriculum with a campus expansion. The project converts eight acres of previously undeveloped land into a new soccer field, tennis courts, and an amphitheater. This project rehabilitated the organic garden, extends the parking area, and adds a new vehicular ingress and egress to Carmel Valley Road.
The private Episcopalian All Saints Day School moved to its beautiful campus in 1965. Surrounded by rolling hills, it is bordered in the back by the Carmel River and protected animal habitats and in the front by Carmel Valley Road with a 100-foot scenic setback. BFS has a long-standing relationship with All Saints and has worked on its campus since the 1990s.
This extension of the property line through the acquisition of a former orchard on the East side and the development of a portion of the existing campus doubles the size of the school’s activities area. The extension’s design is congruent with the current campus landscape. Specific plants were selected to tie into the existing pallet and mature ornamental trees. The landscape design carried on the school’s tradition of honoring the land’s former role as an orchard and maintaining remnants of the fruit and heritage apple trees. The edge of the campus transitions from a manicured landscape to a natural setting. A setback from the road was populated with native trees and grasses to maintain the iconic character Carmel is known for.
Water played an essential part in this project. Conservation efforts included selecting drought-tolerant and low-water foliage and plants and using synthetic turf on the soccer field, which required low-water maintenance.
The campus expansion design maintains wildlife corridors and mitigates negative impacts on the Carmel River and protected habitats. Stormwater run-off was channeled into new bioretention areas. These became student education areas on water retention impacts and wild habitats.
