When it rains, it drains: Unified Green project expands uptown campus stormwater management

With its historic buildings and live oaks draped in Spanish moss, Tulane's uptown campus is often hailed as one of the country's most beautiful. But beyond aesthetic appeal, the landscaping and architecture are part of an intricate system that efficiently collects and distributes stormwater across the university's grounds for optimal stormwater management.

The university is improving and expanding this stormwater management system with the Unified Green project, the fourth and final phase of a yearslong effort to enhance the university experience around Newcomb Quad and the newly reopened Berger Family Lawn. The project, which will join the two green spaces upon its completion in spring 2027, is part of the university's Master Plan and will reduce the risk of flooding in neighborhoods adjacent to Tulane's uptown campus.

"Unified Green is the latest evolution in a comprehensive, campuswide strategy that treats the landscape as high-performance infrastructure," said Jeffrey Stolier, senior associate vice president of planning, programming and design at Tulane.

Around campus, the strategy balances form and function. Louisiana irises, bright yellow rudbeckia and bald cypress trees sway in the breeze, comprising native gardens that use interconnected basins to filter runoff through their root systems. The glass façade of the Goldring/Woldenberg Business Complex curves around the roots of oak trees, which soak up more rain, while the courtyard at Paul Hall captures runoff from downspouts on the roof.

But what's hidden underground is even more impressive.

Buried beneath the surface of the new Unified Green quad, domed chambers have been installed that will hold approximately 440,000 gallons of water, which is nearly the capacity of a standard eight-lane college swimming pool. When it rains, the water will soak through the grass and soil and into the chambers. Then, it will slowly make its way through a weir into the city's drainage system, easing pressure on the system during heavy rainfall.

"There are different ways to do these stormwater projects, whether it's visual, like the native gardens where you can see runoff on the surface and see how the rainwater storage and the plants are working for us, or whether it's detention, like these storage chambers that go under fields and lawns," said Amber Beezley, director of feasibility, planning and programming.

Unlike aboveground techniques, underground water detention systems need to be carefully arranged around the root systems of the oak trees.

"For this reason, larger open spaces - such as the Unified Green - often provide the best opportunities for significant underground storage while balancing infrastructure needs with the protection of the campus landscape," Stolier said.

The project builds on what's already in place on Tulane's uptown campus, which is divided into six watersheds, each with a specific assignment to ensure distributed stormwater management and reduce the risk of flooding. Similar stormwater detention chambers were built beneath both Newcomb Place and Barney Mintz Field near Yulman Stadium. A variety of stormwater systems will be installed on Tulane's expanding downtown campus as well, including around the LaSalle Parking Garage and the adjacent LaSalle Plaza.

"The design of the Unified Green is a synthesis of lessons learned over the last decade as stormwater requirements in New Orleans evolved," Stolier said.

Beezley noted one example of that evolution. While loose gravel was initially considered to promote more efficient drainage in parking lots, the new recommendation is permeable paving, a specialized, porous surfacing material that allows water to pass through and helps to prevent drains from being clogged by gravel.

"Both the city and Tulane have learned lessons in those early best practices and how they actually worked out in the end," she said.

Taking an evolving approach ensures the campus will be around for students, employees and visitors to enjoy for years to come.

"Projects like the Unified Green show how stormwater infrastructure can do more than manage water," Stolier said. "It can support a safer, more beautiful and more functional campus environment while reinforcing Tulane's broader commitment to resilience and sustainability in New Orleans."