Landscapes that promote learning and invigorate student life
Front Cover: GMU Exploratory Hall, Fairfax, VA
Introduction ― 8
Selected Projects ― 8
Design for Learning
As student life, technology, and learning platforms evolve, they continuously expand and transform the definition of “campus.” Theories of pedagogy and methods of learning are constantly evolving. Education now takes place both within and beyond the classroom. It extends beyond formal networks and it transcends age. At the same time, the ambition of education remains unchanged: academic institutions strive to spark inquisitive minds, build character, and instill community pride. We challenge ourselves to generate innovative strategies for educational environments that foster intellectual curiosity – engaging people through landscape while supporting the dynamic nature of learning.
Supporting the dynamic nature of teaching and learning.
The definition of ‘campus’ expands and transforms with every evolution in student preferences, with each new technology and with each iteration of learning platform. In response, our practice aims to help students, teachers and life-long learners get the most out of every educational endeavor, no matter the setting. A range of experiential environments can foster meaningful connections within institutions and between disciplines. We therefore focus on creating safe, engaging spaces that support risk taking, encourage problem solving and generate productive collisions to enhance the campus fabric and improve learning outcomes.
Projects
Selected Projects
Bowie State University, Center for Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Nursing
Bowie, Maryland
Client: Bowie State University
Size: 4.4 acres
Completion Date: 2017
Sustainability: LEED Platinum ®
Awards:
Honor Award, Potomac ASLA, 2019
President’s Award of Excellence, MD ASLA, 2019
Honor Award, SE Regional ASLA, 2019
Merit Award, GA ASLA, 2019
― WHAT IT IS
A geometry of fractals found in nature inspired this series of outdoor spaces that simultaneously improves function and reduces water use.
― WHAT MAKES IT COOL
Flexible seating arrangements designed for a range of activities drives passive learning beyond the classroom walls.
Bowie State University
Drought tolerant planting defines the space while visually screening adjacent service areas.
The grouped seating provides for synergistic use with the opposite turf area, which is often used for student group gatherings. Lit supports at the base of each bench were custom designed to express the mathematical Fibonacci sequence.
The southern bosque defines flexible function space.
For informal gatherings,
the plaza is shaded by a bosque of Maple trees with permeable stone mulch beneath.
George Mason University, Exploratory
Hall
Fairfax, Virginia
Client: George Mason University
Size: 1.7 acres
Completion Date: 2013
A campus quad, gardens, and outdoor classroom connected by a terraced promenade.
Tall grasses swirl with motion, transforming planting into a living sculpture.
The campus is connected by a terraced promenade links the quad, gardens, and outdoor classrooms.
Exploratory Hall
― WHAT MAKES IT COOL
‘Dialogue Stones’ inspire conversation with subtle placement and evocative quotations.
The outdoor classroom acts as both a formal teaching space and informal gathering space.
Grasses frame views to the Student Union while defining boundaries between programmed space.
The Quad is activated by diagonal paths and dialogue stones.
College of Coastal Georgia
Brunswick, Georgia
Client: College of Coastal Georgia
Size: 9.8 acres
Completion Date: 2010
Sustainability: LEED Gold ® Awards:
Honor Award, GA ASLA, 2012
A series of thoughtfully designed plazas, quads, allées and gathering areas establish a contemporary yet timeless campus character.
A series of gathering spaces interspersed through the quad offer settings for community events and outdoor learning.
College of Coastal Georgia
― WHAT MAKES IT COOL
A 300 car asphalt parking lot was transformed into a 2.5-acre tree-lined quad.
Locally sourced stone paving expresses the regional character of this coastal Georgia town.
Flexible courtyards for studying or dining. ↓
The site design centers on a campus green that replaced an existing parking lot.
Georgia Institute of Technology, Hinman Courtyard
Atlanta, Georgia
Client: Georgia Institute of Technology
Size: 8,100 square feet
Completion Date: 2013
A public plaza douples as an extended studio space for Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture.
―
WHAT MAKES IT COOL
A functional workspace with varied seating options is subtly embedded with resources for digital learning.
Hinman Courtyard
The plaza was designed to house and display temporary installations such as this experimental structure by students.
A grove of elm trees provides a shady place for coffee, lunch, or quiet study time.
Wood seating breaks up the amphitheater to create a space adaptable to a variety of uses.
Florida International University,
Stempel Complex Site Design
Miami, Florida
Client: Florida International University
Size: 1.8 Acres
Completion Date: 2015
A
cluster of classrooms and labs are paired with a new series of complementary outdoor spaces.
The Everglades’ tree islands inspired a compelling and distinctive motif for this campus courtyard. → With moveable benches and lit cubes for seating, courtyard users can compose their own social space or quiet respite from the South Florida heat.
As elliptical sanctuaries, the courtyards simulate the prehistoric tree mounds found in the Everglades in both form and function.
University of California San Francisco, Mission Bay, Koret Quad
San Francisco, California
Client: UCSF
Size: 2.9 acres
Completion Date: 2019
― WHAT IT IS
The heart of the campus is redesigned as a highperformance landscape and event space.
An existing berm and sculpture are made accessible by terraced seating.
A new dining terrace defines the west end of the event lawn. Existing Pine trees are preserved and pruned to highlight visual connections throughout the Quad.
A new pergola and understory plantings shelter a flexible seating area.
― WHAT MAKES IT COOL
The design incorporates innovative strategies for improved stormwater mangements while enhancing successful elements of the original design.
University of Florida, Clinical
Translational Research Building
Gainesville, Florida
Client: University of Florida
Size: .56 acres
Completion Date: 2013
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Healing gardens for patients and researchers provide visual reprieve while sustaining life on site and within the watershed.
The stormwater pond provides a reflective image of the building and landscape beyond.
Water infiltration plays a large role on site and becomes a highlight of the design through the artistic use of basins and infiltration zones.
View of the gardens from above.
Translational Research Building
The leaf framework carries stormwater through veinlike channels into a central creek, which flows into a retention pond.
Native wildflowers require minimal water and increase pollinator activity.
― WHAT MAKES IT COOL
Inspired by the vein patterns in leaves, this project’s stormwater filtration network is made legible to occupants.
Georgia Institute of Technology, Harrison Square
Atlanta, Georgia
Client: Georgia Institute of Technology
Size: 1.2 acres
Completion Date: 2016
Awards:
Honor Award, SE Regional ASLA, 2019
Honorable Mention, SCUP, 2019
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An historic open space at the heart of campus is re-imagined for present and future needs.
The design readily accommodates large events on the lawn, and becomes a regular stop on campus tours and game days.
― WHAT MAKES IT COOL
Preserved Oak trees, a monolithic seat wall, and well-crafted spaces celebrate the site’s historic significance. ↑
The extensive landscape restoration was guided by the plant communities and ecological performance zones identified in the Campus Landscape Master Plan. ←
The South Plaza illuminated at night.
A new granite seat wall marks Harrison Square as a place of historic significance.
Harrison Square
Historic relics like the Corliss Pump are preserved to honor the legacy and teach the history of the university’s contributions to technological advancement.
Since 1935, we’ve believed that design has the power to make the world a better, more beautiful place.
That’s why clients and community members on nearly every continent partner with us to design healthy, happy places in which to live, learn, work, play, and heal. We’re passionate about human-centered design, and how design can impact our lives through sustainability, resilience, well-being, diversity and inclusion, and mobility. And we’re committed to advancing design through research. As a matter of fact, in 2018, Fast Company named us one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in Architecture. Our team of 2,500 professionals provides worldwide interdisciplinary services in architecture, interior design, branded environments, urban design, landscape architecture, and more, and includes our partners Portland, Nelson\Nygaard, Genesis Planning, and Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR).
For more information, contact: landscapearchitecture@perkinswill.com