Laney College Library

• Oakland, CA
• 2020
• CLIENT: Peralta Community College District

The new gateway plaza at Laney College in downtown Oakland serves as a welcoming beacon to this inward looking campus.

Being constructed in conjunction with the new Library and Learning Resources Center, the plaza integrates sculptural seating and vibrant planting to puncturate the primary entry to the campus’ core. In contrast to this active urban corridor, a southern garden spills out of the main reading room and stitches the building into its bucolic setting of Oakland’s estuary.

The site of the country’s first designated Wildlife Refuge, the park creates a peaceful setting and provides connectivity to the path system around Lake Merritt and and out to the San Francisco Bay.