Seay Building Courtyard

Courtyard View from 2nd Floor Balcony

The Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Building on the campus of University of Texas at Austin was designed by Pelli Clark Pelli Architects.  Completed in 2002, the building and its landscape were the first project completed under the Pelli Clarke Pelli master plan for the university.  The building is home to the Department of Psychology and Human Ecology's Division of Human Development and Family Service (or HEDHDF).

The blurb on the Pelli Clark Pelli website describes "the courtyard, clearly defined by the rectangular bars of the building, imparts a sense of life and energy with the swooping curves of its plantings and walkways. The focus of the courtyard, which has a patio on the south side, is a center seating area used as an outdoor classroom. A modest fountain in the center, fed by a rill of water that flows alongside the walkway, creates a cool oasis."

I walked into the courtyard from the back side, and some of the hedges had grown up high so it was hard to see into the center of the courtyard where the fountain is or read the swooping shape that had shown so strongly in the aerial image.  You do get a better view of the form overall from  the upper patio area which had nice afternoon shade.  I thought because of this there might be more people outside at lunch time when I was visiting, but it was empty.

2014 Google Earth Aerial Image

Plenty of Open Tables at Lunch Time

The fountain at the center of the space was long out of service with some chipped tiles.  Images on the Peli website show it bubbling up, probably giving some nice white noise to the courtyard.  The seatwall adjacent to the fountain was stained and in need of some power washing.  I didn't care for the weep hole detail on the wall which had exposed PVC pipe visible on the front face.  The sunburst shape in the paving also didn't seem to have been crafted as well as it could have been because the shape looks irregular instead of the near-perfect circle that I'd imagine was the design intent.

Fountain Water Source & Tiled Rill

 Busted Fountain

Seatwall with PVC Weep Holes

Sunburst Paving Pattern

The main tree along the spiral curve path is a Pecan tree (Carya illinoinensis), which seems to be doing well.  They like deeper soil, so having that built-up mound planter probably has been good for its health.  The main groundcover in the courtyard is Asian Jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum), which is thriving as it tends to do, even though its not one of my favorite plants because of how aggressive and ubiquitous it is.  I spend hours chopping some out from under Live Oak trees in my yard.  A Turk's Cap (Malaviscus arboreus) has decided to take  over a bench and seems to be quite happy with its perch.

Pecan Tree with Limestone Wall

Turk's Cap Claims Bench

There's a really beefy wood pergola on the south, east and west edges of the courtyard.  The posts are 8x8 timber and mounted to galvanized steel plates on concrete footings.  There's wisteria climbing up and looking good on the west side pergola in particular.  This pergola has a ramp heading up it that has a pretty crazy collection of handrails.  I do like how one of the turns the corner at its end, and the flange covers at the base of the post keep a cleaner look. 

Wood Pergola with Wisteria and Mix of Handrails

Wood Post Connection

Wisteria on Trellis

Handrail Turns Corner