Project Overview

The Parnassus Central Campus Site Improvements project is a landmark urban campus transformation for the University of California, San Francisco — one that redefines how students, faculty, and the public move through, gather in, and experience the historic Parnassus Heights campus. Spanning 44,200 sq. ft. and targeting SITES Gold Certification, this Progressive Design-Build project creates a new "heart of campus" — a welcoming, connected, and sustainably designed open space that anchors UCSF's long-term vision for its central core.

My Role — Project Engineer, Jacobs

As a Project Engineer at Jacobs, I was embedded in the delivery of this complex, multi-phased progressive design-build project, supporting the engineering and coordination efforts across three interconnected workstreams. Working directly for the owner — UCSF — my responsibilities spanned managing architectural deliverables across all project phases, from design programming and concept through schematic design, design development, and construction documents, all the way into pre-construction coordination. I worked across DPCs — Design Package Checklists — at every level documentation, cross-disciplinary coordination, and ensuring that engineering decisions aligned with both the campus masterplan and UCSF's sustainability commitments.

This project demanded a high level of precision and systems thinking, navigating the challenges of an active, densely built urban campus environment while managing simultaneous utility upgrades, seismic compliance work, and landscape-driven design development.

Project Scope & Key Workstreams

The PCCSI project was structured around three distinct but interconnected areas of improvement:

1. Utility Infrastructure & Energy Efficiency Extending and upgrading underground utility infrastructure to support future campus development, improve energy performance, and advance UCSF's fossil-fuel-free initiative. Engineering coordination here required careful sequencing to maintain campus operations throughout construction.

2. Seismic Compliance & Building Decant Ensuring full compliance with UCOP seismic policy through the decanting and planned demolition of the existing School of Nursing building — a technically sensitive scope requiring detailed coordination between structural, MEP, and site teams.

3. Pedestrian Connectivity & Open Space Creation Designing and delivering new pedestrian corridors that bridge the west end of campus with the campus heart — publicly accessible routes that invite movement, pause, and interaction. The demolition footprint of the School of Nursing building becomes the canvas for an entirely new outdoor experience: one that encourages community, rest, and circulation in equal measure.