Community College of Southern Nevada
West Charleston Campus Master Plan

A commission to update the campus master plan was contracted to RAFI.  Laura Jane Spina served as the planning director of the project. Dr. Robert A. Fielden, A.D., NCARB, FAIA served as the director of urban design.  The scope of work included the planning and design of long range site improvements for the 80 acre campus.

An update of the master plan was required to address the college’s large increase in projected student enrollment. Originally planned to accommodate approximately 4,000 students, an increase in the student body has been expanded to 25,000 students, with classes from 0800 hours to 2200 hours.  Projected maximum campus density has increased from 600,000 square feet of facilities to 900,000 s.f., and parking is reduced from 4,100 spaces to 3,400.  Reduced parking is based on an increase in FTE, longer operating hours, access to the campus by public transportation and a large number of students attending the college who are simultaneously attending high school, located across the street.

The campus plan is designed around a series of metaphors related to higher education, continuing professional development and context of the arid natural environment of southern Nevada. A series of central oases, and focal points for student and faculty informal gatherings, are linked by a pedestrian circulation route which also contain a centralized underground looped utility network. All parking and service is to the perimeter of the campus buildings.