Reclaiming the Right-of-Way for People
Williams Village IIBoulder, CO—USA
As designer of the open space and public realm, Civitas shaped a people-first framework that reclaims the right-of-way for walking and biking, while accommodating vehicles second. Narrow shared-use, curb-less woonerfs, heavily planted “wild” paseos, and rooftop gardens define a development that puts the pedestrian experience with nature at its core. The result is an active, connected environment where daily life, movement, and ecological systems overlap.
Year
In Implementation
Client
Williams Family and Morgan Creek Ventures
Services
Urban Design, Landscape Architecture
Project type/category
Mixed Use, Plaza, Private/Commercial Development, Public Realm, Urban District
Drawing inspiration from the Boulder Flatirons, Williams Village II’s public realm design layers everyday experiences into a vibrant sequence of spaces for living, working, and playing. Within the Flatirons, layers of sandstone formed, shifted and weathered over long spans of time. The public realm at Williams Village II uses layered planting, rock-inspired materials and sculptural landform gestures to reflect this local geology.
The Plaza – Boulder’s Newest Woonerf Connection
At the heart of the project lies a flexible central plaza that serves as a new neighborhood center for Central Boulder, shaded by an inviting tree canopy and framed by active building edges. Small outdoor “rooms” blend with larger gathering areas to accommodate everything from daily meetups to markets and game-day celebrations.
Bringing the “Wild” Back to Boulder
New planting areas create a soft, native buffer from Highway 36 and bring the “wild” of the Flatirons into the site. Native grasses, shrubs, and perennials provide year-round texture and color while supporting biodiversity, stormwater management, and xeric design principles.
The site introduces 156 new trees across 17 species, preserves 17 existing trees, and repurposes select removals for play structures and custom site furnishings. Integrated stormwater systems line the plaza and paseos, where tall ornamental grasses and perennials visibly filter runoff as sustainable infrastructure.
Outcomes
With its two acres of contiguous public open space and a thoughtfully integrated pedestrian and bike-first circulation network, Williams Village II transforms a former strip retail center and parking lot into a vibrant, people-centred place. The design not only supports multi-modal transit and active lifestyles, but also embeds environmentally sensitive design principles, native ecosystem-based planting and storm-water stewardship into everyday experience.
