For its new Ridge Walk Living & Learning Neighborhood, UC San Diego wanted retaining walls that read as natural, layered stone across the campus. Boulderscape value-engineered 72,830 square feet of structural and architectural shotcrete to bring that vision to life — and developed a brand-new finish along the way.
For the new Ridge Walk Living & Learning Neighborhood, UC San Diego wanted retaining walls that felt carved from natural, layered stone — a campus landscape that looked like it had always belonged to the site. Working alongside the university's design team, Boulderscape set out to deliver that vision in sculpted shotcrete.
Boulderscape value-engineered the walls in high-performance structural shotcrete and hand-finished them to match the architects' intent — for 34% less than the alternative. Along the way, our artisans developed an entirely new finish for the project: the "River Wash," sculpted to mimic the stratified layers of a natural riverbed and paired with our E250 Exposed sand finish.
In 92 days, our crew placed 8" to 14" of structural and architectural shotcrete across more than 72,830 square feet of wall, hand-finishing both the E250 Exposed sand surface and the new River Wash strata. The result is a campus landscape that reads as natural rock — delivered on schedule and 34% below the alternative.
From a campus design challenge to a finish that did not exist before, the UC San Diego project shows how sculpted shotcrete delivers an architect's exact vision — faster and more economically than the alternatives. At Boulderscape, shotcrete is not just a structural solution; it is a precision tool for bringing a vision to life.
