UCLA Extension

The 11-acre Holy Spirit Retreat Center is hidden off a small road in LA’s Encino neighborhood and offers retreats and meditative activities, with the motherhouse of the Sisters of Social Service on adjacent property. This project helps the Sisters expand the uses of the site to include a Pando incubator/innovation field lab and demonstration location for best practices in exemplifying LA County’s sustainability goals and the goals of Pope Francis’s “integral ecology.” Our 80-plus member team utilizes the site’s existing topography and features that invite exploration (new trails), new outdoor meeting spaces (amphitheater), innovative methods of capturing storm-water and reusing existing gray water (possible tertiary treatment) for the campus lake, and introduces a California native plant palette throughout the campus. Future studies will address stormwater management interventions and workshops.

Faculty Lead:
Stephanie Landregan, Pamela Brief, Tom Rau

Students:
UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture Students

Aligned LA County Sustainability Plan Goals:
Goal 2: Buildings and infrastructure that support human health and resilience.

Premiere Segment

Pitch deck

Charrette booklet

Photos

Stormwater management projects