DETAILS
With great respect for Edward Durrell Stone’s 1960s modernist campus, this new master plan redefines the campus’ first impression image and reclaims quads as new venues for an enhanced campus lifestyle. The entry drive encounters a new Collin’s Circle, now raised to the level of the entrance plaza. The earthen plinth engages the plaza entry at the new Administration Building and Podium and hosts major campus events to be staged with the podium, campanile, and fountains as their backdrop. Former parking lots and drives have been reclaimed as quads, while the relocated parking lots frame either end of the quads. A pattern of paths follows desires lines with the resulting spaces offering various levels of intimacy ranging from a quiet bench and to large open lawns to dramatic plazas.
The three-acre entrance plaza, previously dedicated to ceremonial drop-off and parking, has been transformed into a inviting central lawn and gathering space with an interactive water feature on axis with the Podium. The lawn is framed by promenades lined with seatwalls, lights, and trees; all of which are grandly scaled to this ceremonial space.
CSULB Liberal Arts Courtyards
The programming and design of the Liberal Art Courtyards were the result of the successful landscape master plan for 322 acres, completed by SWA in 2012 and enhancing the existing campus aesthetic and experience while improving functional relationships for its students, faculty, and community. Considerations included a wealth of open spaces largely devoted to ...
Montclair State University Student Center and Quad
SWA/Balsley collaborated with DIG Architects and Montclair State University to reimagine the campus student center, adjacent quad, and connections to the surrounding campus. Through site analysis and project stakeholder meetings, key pedestrian and vehicular circulation routes were identified for resident students, daily commuters, and University staff. The st...
New Jersey Institute of Technology Green
This campus, like many others, has suffered from the lack of a coherent plan, rendering its campus experience to a series of passages through disconnected interstitial spaces. A key component of the landscape master plan was the identification of new building sites on campus that would shed light on a comprehensive assessment of open spaces and movement system...
Columbia University Landscape Master Plan
As part of a larger development framework plan by Beyer Blinder Belle Architects, Thomas Balsley Associates was commissioned to prepare a landscape master plan for this important historical campus.
The work began with extensive historical research into the original McKim Mead & White plan and Olmsted writings as well as an assessment of current camp...