NW Vista College Welcome Center & Parking Garage

Northwest Vista College’s new, 50,000 sf Desert Willow Welcome Center supports a rapidly growing campus expected to soon exceed 20,000 students. Accommodating that growth called for a facility that not only welcomes students but also makes it easier for them to access a range of services, including; Admissions, Advising, Testing, Financial Aid, Business Services, Veteran’s Affairs, Counseling, Services to Students with Disabilities, Student Records.

The building is designed specifically to meet the needs of first-generation college students, who are the majority of Northwest Vista’s student body. Those needs called for the design team and the college to challenge conventional thinking and to develop unique design solutions to smooth the students’ transition to college life. The project also includes the four-story, 334,000 sf Texas Ash Parking Garage, a second campus parking facility, which follows a new garage we designed for the campus in 2012.

These new facilities highlight and integrate with the beauty of the 123-acre campus, which features gently rolling hills, abundant trees and centrally located, man-made lake. They also incorporate the latest information technologies as required by today’s students and faculty and complement the vibrant color schemes that punctuate the campus.