Studio Gang has been named as the architect of Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability (SDSS), the university’s first new school in 70 years. The school was formed in September 2022, concentrating “interdisciplinary efforts to tackle urgent climate and sustainability challenges facing people and ecosystems worldwide.” The school is home to faculty from geological sciences, geophysics, earth systems science, energy science and engineering, oceans, civil and environmental engineering, and has plans to hire 60 additional faculty members in the next decade. 

The project team, which also includes landscape architects SCAPE and sustainability consultant Atelier Ten, was awarded the project following a Doerr School faculty committee selection from a pool of 13 firms—in part due to its use of sustainable materials. 

The site reserved for the Doerr School sits across from the existing Yang and Yamazaki Environment and Engineering Building on the western side of Stanford’s campus. The school will largely be centered around a Sustainability Commons, which Studio Gang says will provide space for “those most affected by climate change.” The Sustainability Commons area will house new buildings for the Doerr School as well as landscaped areas, and the larger SDSS site will include the existing Green Earth Sciences building.

Studio Gang partner and founding principal Jeanne Gang said: “We are going to be working with Stanford to design a home for the Doerr School of Sustainability that can support the cross-disciplinary collaboration needed for generating climate solutions in all industries. At the same time, we are excited to model ways for the built environment to address this challenge head on.” 

The new buildings will center both existing and forthcoming academic projects in a central location, and make use of its proximity to engineering and earth science work in addition to the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm. In a press release, Studio Gang said that the project is in-line with Stanford’s goals of “achieving zero waste by 2030 and achieving net-zero Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gasses by 2050.”

SCAPE founder Kate Orff added that “The Commons will be a biodiverse and welcoming place to gather, work, and lead the way toward a more sustainable future.” Designs for the Commons include ample spaces for bees to pollinate, and locations for birds on migratory routes to land. SCAPE’s design will seek to weave the Commons into not only existing campus neighbors, but also the Palo Alto landscape.

Designs for the new school have not been revealed yet. Construction is expected to begin late 2026.