Surroundings was one of five teams selected to re-envision the future of a large college campus in Santa Fe. The Midtown Campus is a 63 acre City owned property which historically housed institutions of higher education. Located in the geographic center of Santa Fe, it is surrounded by active retail and restaurants, and state, civic, parks and school facilities, and three different City bus routes come near the site. The Midtown Campus contains substantive infrastructure including roads, buildings, water, sewer, electric, gas, and telecommunication. With nearly 60% of the property undeveloped and underutilized, and guided by the Midtown LINK City ordinance, the campus is a prime location for higher-density, mixed-use development.

The Santa Fe Midtown Campus visioning survey showed strong community support for these industries to be on the campus: Film and Emerging Media, Performance and Visual Arts, Technology and Innovation, and Higher Education Institutions.

The EcoDistricts Initiative is a sustainable planning framework that delivers profitable development by prioritizing people and the planet. The EcoDistricts organization is a non-profit similar to LEED and Green Build that collaborates to share and develop information, resources and strategies to help communities across the nation and internationally to form, plan and implement highly sustainable development districts. The EcoDistrict Initiative has identified some fundamental issue for sustainable development to plan for. They are: 1) Mobility Options & Connectivity, 2) Living Infrastructure, 3) Resource Efficiency & Regeneration, 4) Habitat Creation & Preservation, 5) Green Building, 6) Health and Well Being, 7) Public Spaces & Community Identify, and 8) Equitable Development & Prosperity. The Surroundings design team explored at a conceptual level how three issues – Connections, Water, and Energy–might be a sustainably addressed in the Mid-Town EcoDistrict.