PROJECT BACKGROUND

The University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) is a 12-story, 286,000-square-foot facility dedicated to cancer treatment, research, and prevention. Located next to the Río Piedras Medical Center in San Juan, it anchors the Science City District. Vaccarino Associates joined RMJM, Hillier, and Victor Villegas (Arquiteg) to develop the site’s landscape architecture design, including parking, service areas, entrances, and a Healing Garden for terminal patients. The client also sought a welcoming entrance that would visually and programmatically connect the CCC to Science City Boulevard.

PROJECT CHALLENGES:

The project faced multiple challenges that shaped the design approach:

1. The site and building were already in the Construction Document phase when we joined, limiting flexibility for changes.
2. Engineers had proposed a large detention pond with chain-link fencing as the only stormwater infrastructure solution, creating an unattractive focal point at the entrance and visible from all hospital floors.
3. Extensive paved areas for roads and parking required redesign to retrofit shade trees and to manage stormwater on-site for irrigation and other non-potable uses.
4. The building and site, as designed, did not qualify for LEED certification; only a strong landscape architecture and green stormwater infrastructure strategy could secure the missing sustainability points.

We proposed six design strategies that increased LEED points:

1. Eliminate the detention pond — preserving open space and avoiding costly fill by relocating detention beneath the parking lot, already set into a cut slope.
2. Enhance retention through soil design — modifying soil quality and drainage capacity to reduce detention volume at the site’s lowest point.
3. Use engineered fill — specifying highly porous material that meets both drainage and bioretention standards.
4. Introduce vegetated swales — capturing and filtering runoff from Science City Boulevard, site driveways, and parking areas.
5. Create a grass parterre — using tall grass biofilters to slow runoff, shape the landform, and visually connect the site to the scale of the CCC building and Science City Boulevard.
6. Rely on gravity flow — filtered water enters underground Storm-Tanks directly, minimizing piping and enabling reuse for irrigation.

THE GRASS PARTERRE

In this project, linear grass biofilters transform the entry road into both a visual landmark and a stormwater strategy. Designed as a low-maintenance grass parterre, they unify the site with the adjacent Science City Boulevard while creating an open, meadow-like landscape that shifts in color and texture throughout the year.

The alternating bands of tall clumping grasses and mown Bermuda lawn are placed perpendicular to the slope, slowing runoff and reducing erosion. Gama grass (Tripsacum floridiana) thrives in mid-slope conditions, while Tripsacum dactyloides occupies wetter zones at the bottom. Together, they filter and intercept stormwater while presenting a dynamic pattern visible from both ground level and upper floors.

The grasses move like flocks in the wind, shifting from silvery-green to golden tones across seasons, reinforcing the impression of a savanna. Occasional trees and scattered palms punctuate the open landscape, while the curving north entrance path follows the site’s hydrology—snaking along natural concavities that guide runoff and frame varied views of landforms and vegetation.

Stormwater infiltrates naturally through porous soils, moving downhill without drainpipes. This reduces volumes needing detention, while overflow during major storms is captured in underground Rain Tanks beneath the parking lot for reuse or controlled release.

The median shifts into asymmetrical islands, clustering trees and shrubs in layered groups for shade and biodiversity. Interrupted curbs and curb cuts direct runoff straight into the planted areas, where soils and vegetation filter water and tolerate extremes of moisture and nutrients typical of urban runoff.

A dense buffer of native and endemic Puerto Rican species frames the site, layered with tall canopy trees above and smaller understory trees below. The grass parterre acts as a deliberate “clearing” within this forest edge, animated by scattered savanna-like trees and palms that create rhythm and scale. At the lowest grade, a grove of imperial palms—including Roystonea oleracea, Syagrus sancona, and Acrocomia aculeata—anchors the parterre to the building’s height. This layered planting strategy balances ecological performance with visual impact, advancing sustainable landscape architecture and resilient design in tropical climates.

Contrasting textures, colors, and materials invite tactile exploration and visual discovery. Paths are fragmented into interlocking shapes, integrating with the broader parterre pattern through two-toned concrete and sustainable paving aggregates. Plant beds edged with recycled materials support a composition that balances volume without overwhelming shade, preserving the view from above.

Because palm imports are prohibited in Puerto Rico, our intended imperial palms were replaced with tall, locally available Syagrus sancona. Planted in stormwater infiltration basins, these palms are both hurricane-resilient and visually striking. Together with the wall’s epiphytes, they evoke the layered quality of a rainforest canopy. From the Healing Garden, the scene becomes a dramatic backdrop, blending architecture and landscape into a living stage.