University of Nebraska Lincoln Campus Master Plan

With its 2012 induction into the Big Ten conference, the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL) embraced its aspiration for growth and elevated visibility on the national stage by launching a campus master plan and landscape master plan. Gina Ford – who was the Hyde Chair of Excellence at the University’s School of Architecture – led the landscape development in the master plan and Brie Hensold served as the project manager and urban planner, both while principals at Sasaki.  

A land-grant and research-driven institution, UNL’s two campus system reflects a unique and powerful diversity – the more urban City Campus and the more rural East Campus. The master plan and landscape master plan – dubbed Plan Big – amplified this distinction, leveraging the urban grid and density of downtown as a framework for City Campus’s growth and the natural systems based landscape strategies of East Campus as inspiration for its future change,

Three strategies guided the development of the plan. First, “Big and Green” strengthened landscape identity, stormwater management and strategic  placemaking in service of increased collaboration system-wide. “Big and Well Connected” introduced improvements to campus-wide mobility systems including walking, bicycling, transit / shuttle services and driving. Finally, “Thinking Big” identified sites for future growth opportunities for new research and academic sites.