Campus Master Plan Update 17 2 - ANALYSIS & OBSERVATIONS Natural Landscape & Habitat Environmental Factors The semi-arid and warm south Texas climate has a major impact on the existing and proposed design of the TAMIU campus and its facilities. Mild temperatures in the winter make for very pleasant outdoor spaces, while heat and sun in the other months can severely limit the usability of these very same spaces. and climate change only promises to make these challenges more dramatic in the future. Shade, plant selection, building articulation and facade design and other strategies can all have substantial impacts on human comfort, usability of outdoor spaces, energy and water use and more. Formal Landscape Landscape Types The TAMIU campus has several main types of landscape present. Within the main developed portions of campus the landscape could be desribed as “formal” with highly structured spaces defined by buildings, hardscape, turfgrass, and rows of tree plantings. As you move away from the core there are other areas that could be desribed as “informal” which may be mowed or otherwise maintained but are not as heavily designed or defined. Finally, other areas beyond the developed portion of campus might be described as “natural,” with only dirt roads or trails within the eastern portion of the TAMIU property. Informal Landscape
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