A partnership between Facilities Management and students majoring in landscape architecture is blooming on the campus – and to the benefit of both groups.
During the past year, students have sharpened their design skills by working with landscapers in Facilities Management, which has similarly benefited from the influx of young minds with bright ideas.
Together, the two groups have dreamed up a variety of proposals, such as trees, flowers, new sidewalks and tables and chairs outside the Stamp Student Union; “bermas,” or flower beds, outside of Symons Hall; an irrigation garden outside the Clarice Smith Performance Arts Center; and a labyrinth and garden outside the Memorial Chapel.
Though not every proposal may come to fruition, the chapel’s labyrinth and garden are awaiting approval and could be completed by late fall if given the go-ahead, said associate professor Jack Sullivan, who along with other landscape architecture professors has begun assigning campus design projects whose final products could be implemented by Facilities Management. In fact, the landscape architecture department requires students to complete a capstone design project their senior year.
“We want [students] to change the way they think about public spaces, housing and urbanization,” professor Dennis Nola said.
And the projects are helping students get ready for the real world.
“This is the closest studio we get before we go to an office,” senior landscape architect major Lauren Kovach said. “It’s a great experience. This is the closest you can get to office work.”
Professor Steven Cohan agreed, saying the program gives students a competitive edge in their field.
“We try to stimulate a real-life scenario with them,” he said. “We utilize Facilities Management as a client. The real benefit is getting real-life experience on campus.”
Forty students divided into teams are designing the Student Union project. The students proposed organizing the area into the four themes alumnus Jim Henson, a statue of whom decorates the outside of the Student Union, lived by: faith, magic, friendship and love.
The proposal aimed to create more “usable” space and was designed with a “student focus,” Nola said. It will add new trees, flowers, walking paths – which will eliminate the dirt patches in front of the Student Union – and benches to the area in front of the building, creating an overflow space where students can spend time.
Senior landscape architecture majors Lauren Richter and John Prothro joined a planning committee for a garden and labyrinth outside the chapel. Sullivan said he has seen the students’ talent level grow as they work on the project.
“I’ve been watching these students mature the past three years; it’s been rewarding watching them transition into professional consultants,” Sullivan said.
And the new partnership has helped Facilities Management, as well. The surge of students has lessened the load on some of the staff, providing the intellectual resources needed for some of the smaller projects on the campus. Three students have even joined the Facilities Management payroll.
“We have challenges we like to throw out to students,” Landscape Services Manager Karen Petroff said. “They’ve been able to get designs done that otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to do because of staffing levels.”
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