Capabilities + Qualifications
KMRLNFLM5LV4
541310 (Architectural Services – size standard $12.5M per 2022)
148862469
4NM68
We consistently receive “Very good” and “Exceptional” ratings throughout our 15+ years of work with the U.S. General Services Administration
Jones Studio is eager for an opportunity to work with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, with particular interest in the new Worldwide Modernization and Renovation IDIQ assumed in 2023 and the Worldwide A/E Design Services IDIQ in 2024.
Our project experience aligns directly with the OBO’s mission to provide safe, functional and resilient facilities that reinforce U.S. foreign policy objectives and positively represent the United States abroad. We have the distinct privilege of working with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) on multiple land ports of entry at the U.S. border, including the $187 million modernization of the Mariposa LPOE campus in Nogales, Arizona completed in 2014; a design-build pedestrian processing facility at the San Luis LPOE in San Luis, Arizona completed in 2018; and two Ports currently under construction: the $128 million Otay Mesa LPOE campus modernization in San Diego, California and a complete envelope replacement for multiple buildings on the Pacific Highway LPOE campus in Blaine, Washington. Additionally, we are currently providing architectural and design services for office buildings, courthouses and land ports of entry in GSA Region 9 through an IDIQ contract. We thoroughly understand the existing government processes involved in designing projects of similar magnitude, complexity and scope to the numerous OBO Embassy and Consulate projects in the pipeline via the IDIQ contracts.
FAIA | FOUNDER, PRINCIPAL
FAIA | PRESIDENT
AIA | PRINCIPAL
AIA | PRINCIPAL
AIA | SENIOR ASSOCIATE
AIA, LEED AP BD + C | PROJECT DESIGNER + ARCHITECT + SENIOR ASSOCIATE
The modernization and expansion of the San Luis I LPOE improves efficiency, traffic flow, and security while prioritizing goals such as enhancing POV inspection, creating an attractive urban edge, ensuring CBP officer safety, and preserving the dignity of the pedestrian experience.
Mariposa, a bustling land port in the U.S., underwent a five-year modernization and expansion project to meet the increasing trade demands, resulting in improved facilities and expanded lanes for vehicles.
The modernization of the third busiest commercial land port in the U.S. addresses technical, financial, and architectural challenges while creating a secure, welcoming, and aesthetically pleasing environment.
San Luis I Land Port of Entry is a primary daily crossing for agricultural workers, handling 3 million vehicles and 2.5 million pedestrians annually. The completion of the North Annex Building renovation in 2018 was a seed project for the port’s overall campus development.
The Beus Center for Law and Society (BCLS) in downtown Phoenix serves as an educational hub, connecting the law school with the community. The state-of-the-art facility, spanning six stories and 260,000 square feet, features a public interest law clinic and the nation’s first not-for-profit teaching law firm, while its open design fosters connections between ASU, the College of Law, and the local community.
The Thunderbird School of Global Management, originally established on a decommissioned airfield in Glendale, Arizona, was relocated to Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix campus. This move reaffirms Thunderbird’s position as a pioneering institution in international business education within a thriving global hub.
The new Environmental Learning Center (ELC) will be a sustainable facility dedicated to water education, research, and public gathering. With features like a water quality lab, research spaces, multi-purpose classrooms, and event venues, it will serve as a regional hub for water-related activities in the arid west.
Our team is well-versed in the intricacies of federal design and facilities standards as well as designing with multiple government stakeholder groups, having worked on numerous GSA projects from a 5,600-sf Secret Service office renovation to a 54-acre land port of entry modernization and expansion.
FAIA | FOUNDER, PRINCIPAL
Eddie Jones, FAIA, is our Principal Designer with the overall design vision for each of our land port of entry projects. He has served as a GSA Design Excellence Peer Reviewer since 2007.
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Bachelor of Architecture, Oklahoma State University
2021 Fellowship Silver Platters (AIA Western Mountain Region)
2021 Fellow (AIA National Institute)
2021 “Gold” Leadership Pin (Oklahoma State University)
2018 Architects Medal (AIA Arizona)
2016 Design Icon – Architect (Sources for Design)
2015 Hall of Fame (“OSU College of Engineering, Architecture & Technology”)
2004 Melvin R. Lohmann Medal (“OSU College of Engineering, Architecture & Technology”)
1999 Bruce Goff Chair for Creative Architecture (University of Oklahoma)
Eddie Jones is founder and principal of Jones Studio. Born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, Eddie moved to the desert shortly after graduating from Oklahoma State University and began his own studio in his spare bedroom in 1979. For over forty years he has led our studio with persistent optimism through both his enduring commitment to sustainability and his intrepid spirit for innovative design.
Eddie holds the rare ability to create responsive architecture, timeless in design yet bound distinctively to its place. His sense for space, materials, and detail—inspired by nature and those who came before—is the foundation of all our work. With principal Brian Farling, Eddie works closely with clients to craft a shared vision and lead all aspects of design from concept through construction.
Eddie has lectured widely throughout North America, Europe, and Asia and is active in numerous civic and academic committees with a focus on design excellence, education, community impact, and sustainability. He recently published a monograph on the studio’s private residential work titled Sensual Modernism.
FAIA | PRESIDENT
Neal Jones, FAIA, expertly manages the contracts for all of our projects, including our four land ports of entry and our GSA Region 9 IDIQ. At the heart of Neal’s practice is his belief in good design as a public responsibility.
37
AIA, LEED AP, NCARB
Master of Business Administration, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Master of Architecture, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Bachelor of Science, Architectural Studies, Oklahoma State University
2021 Fellowship Silver Platters (AIA Western Mountain Region)
2021 “Gold” Leadership Pin (Oklahoma State University)
2021 Fellows (AIA National Institute)
2020 Silver Medal (AIA Western Mountain Region)
2017 Architects Medal (AIA Arizona)
2015 Hall of Fame (“OSU College of Engineering, Architecture & Technology”)
2004 Melvin R. Lohmann Medal (“OSU College of Engineering, Architecture & Technology”)
Neal Jones joined his brother Eddie in 1986 as president and principal of Jones Studio. After his time following in his brother’s footsteps at Oklahoma State, Neal earned dual masters in architecture and business administration at the University of Illinois. He has been instrumental in overseeing the growth of the studio over the past four decades.
Neal developed a diverse skillset throughout his career in procurement, design, and production for the studio’s projects. Whether engaging with clients to understand their needs or managing large teams to ensure timely project delivery, his leadership guides our studio. The diversity of our studio’s work is a testament to Neal’s ability to navigate the particulars of any project type.
Neal lectures at universities and serves on award juries throughout the world, with a particular passion for teaching professional practice and mentoring emerging professionals. He has served on the Arizona State Board of Technical Registration and on the Board’s Enforcement Advisory Committee.
AIA | PRINCIPAL
Jacob Benyi, AIA, was the Project Manager for both the Mariposa Land Port of Entry and the San Luis I North Annex Building, and knows the GSA’s P-100 Facilities Standards as well as if he wrote them himself.
21
Master of Architecture, Columbia University
Bachelor of Science, Architectural Studies, Arizona State University
Jacob Benyi joined Jones Studio in 2002 and became Principal in 2014. Starting as an intern while attending Arizona State University and Columbia University through his rise to principal, he leaves an indelible mark on every project he undertakes by leading design teams and overseeing a wide breadth of project types.
Jacob manages some of the studio’s largest projects while simultaneously leading the studio’s daily operations. His attention to detail, clear communication, and commitment to provide excellent service are invaluable to our work. His experience leading highly complex projects and engaging with multitudes of stakeholders allows our office to consistently deliver design excellence, regardless of size or budget.
A native Arizonan and avid explorer, Jacob is dedicated to sustainable design in both the built and natural environments. Professionally, this translates into guiding our studio’s LEED Certified projects, leading the design and construction teams to meet the project’s sustainability goals. He developed an early appreciation for the desert southwest through involvement with the Boy Scouts of America, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in his youth and serving today on the Executive Board of Directors for the Grand Canyon Council.
AIA | PRINCIPAL
Brian Farling, AIA, as Lead Designer, made the day-to-day design decisions for both the Mariposa Land Port of Entry and the San Luis 1 North Annex Building. Brian has a particular passion for water stewardship and designing buildings that conserve and celebrate this finite resource.
25
AIA
Bachelor of Architecture, University of Arizona
Brian Farling joined Jones Studio in 1998 and became Principal in 2014. Hailing from Pennsylvania and a graduate of the University of Arizona, he has led the design of award-winning projects that are attuned to their environments for more than twenty years.
Brian’s work, grounded in thoughtful, creative, and pragmatic design, responds to issues unique to each project, client, and site. His commitment to synthesizing sustainable solutions into architecture is informed by the belief that human ingenuity can shape our world for the better. Particularly passionate about water stewardship, Brian finds inspiration in the challenges of water scarcity and conservation. He regularly lectures on the relationship between architecture and water around the country and to audiences ranging from grade schools to national conventions.
Brian teaches design studios at the U of A College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture and has served as a review critic at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, The School of Architecture, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
AIA | SENIOR ASSOCIATE
Maria Salenger, AIA, is currently Project Manager for the Otay Mesa and Pacific Highway Land Ports of Entry and served on the project management and design teams for Mariposa and the San Luis I North Annex Building. Maria is both an architect and a practicing public artist whose work explores the relationships between nature, urbanism, community, and individual influence.
23
AIA
Master of Fine Arts, University College London
Bachelor of Architecture, University of Arizona
Maria Salenger joined Jones Studio in 1999 after receiving degrees from the University of Arizona and University College London. As Senior Associate at Jones Studio, she is an integral design leader for both architecture and public art projects. Her boundless creativity is complemented by her extensive project management experience. It is her support and talent that enables our studio to merge the artistic with the pragmatic in each project she takes on, including more than a dozen public art projects in cities across the country.
Forming connections between nature, urbanism, communities, and individuals drives Maria’s art and architectural projects, featured in Dwell, Architectural Record, The Wall Street Journal and more. She has taught design studios at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, and has worked to empower diverse voices in local and national design practice as part of the AIA Arizona’s Women’s Leadership Group.
AIA, LEED AP BD + C | PROJECT DESIGNER + ARCHITECT + SENIOR ASSOCIATE
Shawn Swisher, AIA, with a previous firm, has worked on various OBO studies and four separate NCCs, including Hermosillo and Matamoros, Mexico; Hyderabad, India; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
5
Master of Architecture, University of California – Berkley
Bachelor of Architecture, University of Southern California
Shawn Swisher joined Jones Studio in 2018 as an architect and designer. Born and raised in Phoenix, he earned degrees in architecture from the University of Southern California and University of California, Berkeley, before returning to the desert. Shawn has a diverse breadth of experience working on projects in the US and abroad, developing designs from the earliest concept stages through construction. As an architect and designer, he brings project designs to life and into the built environment.
Shawn teaches design studios at the University of Arizona and has set on studio reviews at ASU, USC, and Berkeley. As an advocate for equitable design solutions and innovative, resilient design, he currently serves on the City of Tempe Sustainability & Resilience Commission. Shawn is also the co-creator of the podcast Tracing Architecture, which explores the architecture industry’s various interdependent layers.
A dignified and secure welcome to the U.S.
San Luis, Arizona
181,000 square feet / 47 acres
Scheduled 2028
LEED Gold, SITES Silver, Net Zero Energy
The San Luis I LPOE is the primary crossing for farm workers transported to agricultural fields daily across Yuma County and processes approximately 3 million vehicles and 2.5 million pedestrians each year. We completed the North Annex Building renovation, a seed project for the full campus, in 2018. The modernization and expansion improves efficiencies and traffic flows, reduces wait times, and increases CBP’s processing capacity and operational security by effectively deploying the latest technology.
Our campus design is a response to a four-pronged goal:
-AZ Central, June 27, 2023
-U.S. General Services Administration, June 27, 2023
The border does not separate, it connects
Nogales, Arizona
216,000 square feet / 54 acres
2014
LEED Gold
West of Nogales in southern Arizona, the Mariposa Land Port of Entry is one of the busiest land ports in the United States, serving as the entry point for millions of people and billions of dollars in trade between the US and Mexico each year. The original port, built in the 1970s, had become overwhelmed by the growth in traffic and could no longer support the evolving needs of a modern land port of entry. The new port is a study in balancing these needs with the experience of its occupants: necessary surveillance with compassionate interactions, operational efficiency with a healthy work environment, and economic opportunity with sustainable solutions.
Influenced by the smooth, continuous lines of a railroad yard and the contrasting vision of a desert oasis, the site design wraps the port’s utilitarian needs of vehicular and pedestrian processing around a lush central garden for port staff and visitors. Pedestrians are led towards the center of the site along a quiet shaded path to continue their passage north. U.S.-bound vehicular traffic splits at the southern edge of the site, sending private vehicles to the west and commercial vehicles to the east. The central spine of the port is the Oasis, a desert garden running the length of the site that provides respite from the harsh climate and the stress of border protection. Each path crosses the threshold of the new port marking the entry into the country: a canopy of color—red, white, and blue—stretching 1000 feet across the site. This organization, which treats visitors and staff with dignity and streamlined traffic on-site, is now regarded as the model for land port of entry design at the southern border by the GSA and Customs and Border Protection.
Materials like concrete, steel, and glass reflect the ruggedness of the desert terrain that connects the borderland. A pattern of footprints are cast in the exposed face of the insulated concrete walls, alluding to the journey that many migrants take across the border each day. Canopies, trellises, and roof structures are made from raw, mill finish steel, weathered with a layer of natural rust that protects the steel and patinas over time. Full-height glass connects the interiors with the gardens of the Oasis and round porthole windows are carefully placed to view the surrounding landscape, reminding the port staff of the connection to their natural environment.
“While the program itself may be provocative of the current political discourse, the thoughtful layering of circulation scales between pedestrians and autos responds to the multi-functional demands of high efficiency and security. The oasis of green buffer infuses humanity, a dignified sense of place for respite.”
Rosa Sheng, AIA – AIA Arizona Jury comments, 2015 Distinguished Building Awards
Two art installations were commissioned by the GSA as part of their Art in Architecture program. At the southern entry, pedestrians pass under video portraits showing the daily reality of migrants commuting between both countries, exhibiting their journey and the shared culture of the people in the borderland. Leaving the pedestrian processing area, the inverted topography of the Baboquivari Mountain range hangs above those entering into the U.S., marked by a trail indicating the once treacherous passage of people across the landscape. These pieces speak to the connection between the sister cities of Nogales, the people moving across the border daily as an ethereal, transnational population, and to the two bordering countries.
A weight carried by two
Weighs only half as much.
The world on a map looks like the drawing of a cow
In a butcher’s shop, all those lines showing
Where to cut.
That drawing of the cow is also a jigsaw puzzle,
Showing just as much how very well
All the strange parts fit together.
Which way we look at the drawing
Makes all the difference.
We seem to live in a world of maps:
But in truth we live in a world made
Not of paper and ink but of people.
Those lines are our lives. Together,
Let us turn the map until we see clearly:
The border is what joins us,
Not what separates us.
©2003 by Alberto Ríos
The port is grounded by the concept of a nurturing garden sanctuary in the center of a harsh, arid terrain. The Sonoran Desert climate is characterized by the rare abundance of rainfall in the monsoon season set against the many months of scarcity. One million gallons of rainwater are harvested from the building roofs and site to sustain the plant life throughout the site, including the central Oasis. Passing through moments of generous shade and vibrant landscape, visitors are left with the lasting impression of a humane welcome to the United States.
SELECT AWARDS
2019 AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) Justice Facilities Review
2016 AIA National Institute Honor Award
2016 General Services Administration Design Excellence Honor Award
2014 AIA Western Mountain Region Distinguished Architecture Honor Award
Dignified passage for people and commerce
San Diego, California
181,000 square feet / 47 acres
2022
LEED Gold, SITES Silver, Net Zero Energy
Just south of San Diego, the third busiest land port of entry in the United States hums with traffic crawling through the small community of Otay Mesa. Like many of the outdated ports along the southern border, the Otay Mesa LPOE was constrained by its site and in desperate need of a new vision for moving people and connecting the two countries. The existing campus was designed over decades, fractured into disparate parts and requiring a comprehensive master plan to tie the pieces back together. Our modernization of the port improves the operations of the campus and creates a more dignified experience for visitors, staff, and the neighboring community—all while maintaining port operation during construction.
The new campus design reorganizes the site to simplify navigation and craft better spaces for all users. New public-facing facilities are placed closest to the community and enhance the public streetscape along the north edge of the site. Behind these new buildings, the existing commercial truck processing area is expanded to improve traffic flow through the port. Pedestrian circulation is realigned to streamline movement through the site and welcome visitors with increased shade and enhanced landscaping along their route.
The reimagining of the port is grounded in responsible, sustainable environmental design. New buildings feature highly energy-efficient envelopes and glazing systems that are fine-tuned to provide abundant daylighting to interior office spaces. Existing buildings salvage and reuse as much material as possible, and new building exteriors are clad simply in durable, locally-sourced, and low-maintenance materials like concrete masonry and aluminum panels. Extensive areas throughout the site that were previously paved with concrete or asphalt have been replaced with native, drought-tolerant landscaping, lowering the heat island effect in pedestrian areas and utilizing on-site harvested rainwater. Shade canopies over pedestrian paths support an array of solar panels to offset the campus’s energy use. These strategies support the project’s goals to achieve LEED Gold, SITES Silver, and Net Zero Energy certifications.
A dignified and secure welcome to the U.S.
San Luis, Arizona
181,000 square feet / 47 acres
2018
LEED Gold, SITES Silver, Net Zero Energy
As the Colorado River weaves south through Arizona and California, it passes through a verdant valley near Yuma and the smaller San Luis, Arizona. The 1980s-era land port of entry is the passage for thousands of migratory workers seeking work in the agricultural fields in the valley and—as that population grew—became stressed under the volume of visitors passing through.The new North Annex Building at the San Luis I Land Port of Entry was designed to meet this growing need and act as a seed for the future expansion of the busy port, welcoming visitors with respect while maintaining a safe, secure environment.
Inspired by the agricultural fields in the valley laid out in seemingly endless furrows plowed into the land, the design uses this same repetitive, linear structure to form the building and guide visitors through the space. The shape of the sawtooth ceiling and the slot skylights reflect the movement of people from one side of the border to the other while naturally lighting the interior throughout the day. The forms from the interior continue through to the exterior in the form of canopies shading the perimeter glazing and leading pedestrians from the entry through processing and out to the United States.
Durable, low-maintenance materials including glass, aluminum, steel, and corrugated metal clad the exterior and complement the simplicity of the interior materials. The openness of the building, reinforced by clerestory windows and a perimeter of full-height glazing framed with minimal mullions, allows daylight to reach deep into the interior and reduces the need for artificial lighting for the 24/7 operation of the port. The transparent connection from interior to exterior also provides staff an uninterrupted view to survey their surroundings.
To support the larger water needs of the program in the arid desert site, the building harvests both greywater from the interior plumbing fixtures and rainwater from the roof. Greywater is stored, treated, and reused for the building’s water closets, doubling the use of each drop of water and resulting in nearly 45% water use savings. During a rain event, water is celebrated through a waterfall cascading from the roof into the collection basin near the pedestrian exit, where it irrigates the native, drought-tolerant landscaping across the site. A highly energy-efficient envelope and solar panel array infrastructure supplement the water reuse and daylighting strategies to create a comprehensive and performative sustainable design.
“Overall, Jones studio delivers innovative and graceful design, high performance, and good functionality at great value to the taxpayer. They do this quickly and never complain when the government inevitably throws in additional requirements, references obscure contract requirements, or otherwise moves the finish-line farther away. As Jones Studio hones its experience delivering beautiful, resilient and easily maintained designs in remote locations, GSA will find an extremely capable designer for LPOE and other GSA projects.”
Max Edwards, GSA Project Manager
SELECT AWARDS
2019 AIA Arizona Distinguished Building Award + SRP Sustainable Award
2019 Arizona Forward Environmental Excellence Award
2019 AIA Western Mountain Region Distinguished Architecture Honor Award
Law education embedded in the community
Phoenix, Arizona
225,000 square feet
June 2016
LEED Gold
The Beus Center for Law and Society at Arizona State University reinterprets the role of law schools in contemporary society through radical accessibility. Dedicated to educating students and citizens alike on the importance of law in shaping our world, the modern facility advances this mission as the home for the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and legal services such as a public interest law clinic and the nation’s first not-for-profit teaching law firm. Along with Ennead Architects, Jones Studio leveraged the building’s location in Downtown Phoenix to connect deeply with the public realm, serving as a vessel for the school’s progressive legal scholarship to the community at large.
Informed by the surrounding urban character, the site is activated through the building massing and the transparency of ground-level lobbies and gathering spaces. The courtyard form is carved out like a canyon, creating an inviting, open passage that intensifies the connection to public space. A large digital media mesh display frames this space, announcing events, news, and other important information to the general public. Attached at the center of this path is the heart of the building: a series of double-height spaces, stacked vertically and visible to the exterior, that embodies the center’s goal to form a new relationship with its community.
These central spaces include a roof-level exterior court, the college’s main law library, and the Great Hall at the ground level. With a direct connection to the exterior pedestrian path via a custom bi-folding glass wall and retractable stadium seating, the Great Hall acts as a flexible lecture hall and traditional public forum by providing space for people to be seen and heard. Immediately above the Great Hall is the library, where bookstacks and study spaces serve as the primary circulation paths and promote intellectual exchange. Atop these stacked spaces is the shaded rooftop garden, providing outdoor social space in the center of the bustling urban campus.
©Aislinn Weidele/Ennead Architects
Surrounding these larger public rooms are the instructional and work spaces that support the educational functions of the building. The east wing holds the lecture halls, classrooms, and faculty offices, while the narrower west wing houses the college administration and the legal clinic. Open-air walkways stitch the two wings of the building together across the courtyard, connecting these double height spaces with the reading room to the north and think tank spaces to the south. With each wing clad in a self-shading facade of bronze aluminum, glass, and Arizona sandstone, the envelope responds to solar orientation while balancing the interior’s heat gain, glare, and daylighting needs.
The exterior and interior are further linked together by a set of sustainable strategies and palette of modern, warm, and welcoming materials to produce a healthy indoor environment. Spaces of all sizes and functions, from the moot courtroom to individual offices, are generously lit with natural light and energy-efficient lighting. The underfloor air distribution system in the larger classrooms and chilled beams in the smaller offices provide energy-efficient cooling in the desert climate. Black walnut millwork is accentuated by vibrant crimson tones and contrasted by simple white ceilings bringing light deep into the interior. These details contribute to the greater success of the Beus Center for Law & Society to build bridges with the people it seeks to serve.
SELECT AWARDS
2017 The Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Award
2017 Architizer A+ Award
2017 AIA Arizona Distinguished Architecture Award
2017 AIA New York State Award of Excellence
– ASU News, May 28, 2020
– PreLaw, Spring 2020 Issue
– The Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2016
The global headquarters for a fourth industrial revolution
Phoenix, Arizona
124,000 square feet
September 2021
Tracking LEED Gold
The Thunderbird School of Global Management was founded on a decommissioned airfield in Glendale, Arizona, rising from the shadow of the Second World War with a message that “borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers.” For decades, the prestige of the institution was only matched by the breadth of its alumni network, until the shifting business education landscape necessitated a rethinking of the school’s fundamental independence and campus on the fringe of a sprawling suburbia. By joining Arizona State University and moving to its Downtown Phoenix campus, Thunderbird reinstates its position at the vanguard of international business leadership with a new headquarters grounded in an emerging global hub.
The new global headquarters serves to connect the history of the school and its alumni with current students and faculty as they face the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Four interconnected, two-story spaces guide visitors from urban plaza at the entry up through the building, telling the story of Thunderbird in reverse. Starting at the ground level, the Global Forum opens out to the plaza, inviting visitors and passersby to engage with the dialogue through technology and public space.
Each floor offers another heritage lounge that connect students and faculty with the legacy and global impact of the school while providing spaces for quiet study, meeting, and collaboration. Finally, the rooftop Pub celebrates Thunderbird’s founding principle of human connection and the traditions of the historic campus with views to the city skyline and surrounding mountain ranges to the south. In their responses to the changing orientation to the sun and surrounding city moving up through the building, these spaces deepen the connection to the school’s new Phoenix home.
The exterior of the building also engages with the surrounding city through its material expression and the spaces carved out along the street edges. Clad in Arizona sandstone hung above a transparent ground level, the south and east facades define the edges of the city block it shares with the adjacent Beus Center of Law & Society. The west and north facades contrast with silver metal and striking shade louvers, denoting the relationship of the school’s history and its future and framing the Global Forum’s connection to the plaza.
The ground level is open, porous, and accessible to the community, set back deeply to create outdoor rooms beneath the shade of the building above. Recessed gardens fed by captured rainwater and woven into the site temper the surrounding plazas, creating cooler micro-climates along the building’s edge. In this desert urban city, these gestures integrate Thunderbird into its community and invite the world to see its next chapter.
-Green Building & Design, June 15, 2023
-Metropolis Magazine, March 1, 2023
The nexus of water research in the desert
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
20,400 square feet on 10 acres
This visitor center celebrates and educates on the critical importance of water in the desert
“Jones Studio not only designed an amazing environmental learning center for our region, they wrapped it in a comprehensive feasibility analysis and meaningful master plan. We can’t wait for this legacy project to come out of the ground for generations to use and enjoy!”
– Charlie Cassens, Former Lake Havasu City Manager
Lake Havasu and the eponymous City, responsible for delivering water throughout the Lower Colorado River Basin, is a nexus for water issues in a region challenged by climate change and drought. City leadership understood their unique position to promote water resource awareness and stewardship when evaluating the desert city’s future growth in developing the City’s Vision 2020 Plan. Jones Studio collaborated with numerous stakeholders to craft a vision for the Environmental Learning Center—a cornerstone of the plan that stimulates revitalization and provides critical, resilient infrastructure. The ELC is envisioned as a regional model for sustainability, a community educational resource, and a celebration of water in the desert.
The learning center encourages community engagement with complex water issues through the building’s program. Educational spaces like classrooms and observable water quality laboratories—where researchers discover alongside visitors—reinforce the center’s aspiration as the premier water research institution in the Southwest. The resource center provides an environment for discovery through experiential learning in physical and digital forms, utilizing immersive technology to better communicate research. Flexible workplace and multi-purpose spaces of various scales support local partnership collaboration and community outreach, highlighted by the large, flexible event space overlooking the site. These spaces within the ELC are stitched together by galleries communicating the importance of water through different media, inspiring viewers to action.
Settling seamlessly into the site, the building is inspired by the geology and erosion of the desert. The fractures of the form frame views and carve paths across the site. Cresting roof planes, recalling the jagged fragments of the adjacent hills, bring daylight and natural ventilation deep into the building while gently guiding rainwater to the ground below. Walls of concrete carrying these roofs are cast with a face of loose stone quarried from the site and evoke a tactile recognition of the place. Composed at the peak of the hillside as a gateway from the city to the rugged topography, these elements lead visitors to desert vistas beyond.
Similar to the building, the site is also a laboratory for discovery. Upon approach, the welcome garden entices visitors to explore their environment with native flora unique to the desert biome. A trail network leads from the ELC through the surrounding 280-acre park and nature preserve that includes exterior public gathering spaces, an amphitheater for on-site classes and outdoor performances, and gardens for desert botanical research. Amenities like nature playgrounds and habitat towers, which shelter a diversity of displaced animals, invite learning through play and observation. Engaging visitors through these varied, adaptive uses meaningfully underscores the importance of water in their lives.
“Neal, Brian and their inspired team not only designed an amazing environmental learning center facility for our region, they wrapped it in a comprehensive feasibility analysis and meaningful master plan. We can’t wait for this legacy project to come out of the ground for generations to use and enjoy!”
Charlie Cassens, Lake Havasu City
Water research and technology are featured in the design beyond the programmatic spaces. Inside the ELC, the cafe serves local, sustainable food made from ingredients grown in the indoor hydroponic farm and the exterior gardens to exhibit the potential for sensible agriculture in the desert. Outside, innovative water management is demonstrated throughout the harvesting gardens on site, most prominently in the central Living Machine garden that illustrates how natural ecosystems can process blackwater for reuse. Pairing these kinds of informative interventions with the building’s sustainable design strategies and on-site photovoltaics, the ELC holds the promise to transform the future of water in the desert.
We look forward to the opportunity to work with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations. We are excited about the prospect of collaborating with OBO to create exceptional diplomatic facilities that align with their mission. We are eager to contribute our expertise, innovation, and commitment to excellence in partnership with OBO.
