Windhover Exterior Courtyard

The Windhover contemplative center is located on Stanford University's campus, which can easily be accessed off the 280 (Sand Hill Road exit), the 101 (Palo Alto exit) or off El Camino if traveling locally. Once on campus, navigate to the Tresidder Union parking lot off Mayfield Avenue. Park and walk north between the Faculty Club and the student union to Santa Teresa Avenue. Turn left and walk along Santa Teresa past the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden. Windhover will be on your immediate left. To access the outdoor courtyard where this photo was taken, walk around to the back of the building on the south side. In order to enter Windhover, you'll need a valid Stanford University ID card (SUID). The exterior courtyard where this photo was taken, however, is normally open to the public. Address: Windhover, 370 Santa Teresa St, Stanford, CA 94305 https://windhover.stanford.edu

The Windhover courtyard is open and beautiful at all times. If you want the effect of the water on the concrete like in this photo, try to time your visit for just after it's rain, which is more likely in the winter months.

Windhover is open to the public from 7:00am-7:00pm — and is best photographed in the daylight.

The Windhover building itself is an architectural marvel, and the courtyard has lots of small minimal details that make it beautiful. To bring out the structural elements of the space, let the lines and geometry of the walls and supports guide your eye.

Rule of thirds can be your best friend when composing a shot in this space. For this photo, I aligned the strong vertical element of the support pole directly along the lefthand vertical line.

To add a bit of contrast, look for areas where organic shapes like pools of water or bamboo leaves sneak in to the otherwise minimal and geometric space.

Stanford University is full of beautiful areas to explore. Nearest to Windhover, take a hike around the perimeter of lake Lagunita (though don't be surprised if it's not full in any season but winter), grab a coffee at CoHo or a slice of pizza at the Treehouse.