Located in a heavily wooded site, the Nationwide Operations Center is a fine example of working the native landscape into the entire site design of a large office building. Landscape plans set the tone for the entire project, and is a major recruiting factor in attracting staff members for the insurance center. New plantings reflect the colors and textures of the native landscape of San Antonio and Westover Hills. Hardscape design elements included granite paths, flagstone entrance paving, hand-crafted stone retaining walls, a unique leuder’s limestone bridge allowing natural site drainage, quarry blocks and huge boulders in the employees’ lunchtime courtyard, and a stone seat wall flanking the entrance which receives rainfall from the canopy above.  The site includes an outdoor basketball court, restored native grasslands around the perimeter, and a fire lane with a drivable lawn surface. 

TEXAS ASLA HONOR AWARD 2014