The Campus at Horton

The Horton Plaza redevelopment reimagines an iconic mall into a life sciences campus with sustainability as its centerpiece. Atelier Ten set ambitous sustainability goals for the project including Zero Waste, Carbon Neutral, LEED Platinum, WELL Platinum, and water recycling.

Designing for pragmatic performance led to an elegant alignment between sustainability and cost-effective decisions. It turned out, the most sustainable options, were also the most cost-effective in the long-term.

Taking advantage of San Diego’s climate, the development marries indoor and outdoor spaces and produces over 3,200 MWh annually onsite through the largest private solar array in Downtown San Diego. While celebrated for it’s postmodern charm, the original mall turned inward and focused pedestrian activity away from the surrounding city blocks. The new Campus at Horton opens up the central courtyard to the surrounding context, reconnecting with the neighborhood while simultaneously opening up the re-purposed buildings to more daylight and fresh air.

A major focus for the development was reusing materials and water in order to reduce the project’s environmental footprint. The decision to reuse the existing mall structure led to a 60% reduction in the project’s embodied carbon footprint.

Atelier Ten led the project toward the decision to implement San Diego’s first onsite commercial blackwater treatment system and one of the largest known blackwater systems in the country. The system saves 7.5 million gallons of water annually, equivalent to 55% of the campus potable water use.