Northeastern University ISEC, PedX + EXP
Boston, MA

The new landscape at the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex at Northeastern University serves as a gateway bridge between the existing campus and the adjacent Roxbury neighborhood. A major streetscape intervention and bikeway provides distinct and safe pedestrian and commuter passage. An elegant sloped walkway rises from Columbus Avenue to the Arc, an elevated public landscape that extends across the rail corridor below, connecting people to the heart of campus. Adjacent to the building, a new plaza hovers above a new urban marsh for stormwater treatment and recharge, a historic reference to the nearby Fens. The landscape includes multiple opportunities and new outdoor experiences for gathering, reflection and study, offering a diversity of experience and character within this new urban space. These features are nestled within mature plantings and water elements that cool the landscape and create opportunities for habitat and seasonal variation through bloom and fall color. At EXP, we added an elevated Sky Roof Garden of alpine plant communities and expansive city views, offering places for reflection, respite, and informal learning. By integrating architecture, landscape architecture, campus planning, and municipal infrastructure, we established a new model for urban campus landscapes that reconnect people, neighborhoods, and ecological systems.

Recognition
BSLA | Honor Award 2020

Collaborators
Payette Associates
ARUP

Photography
Ngoc Doan
Chuck Choi
Evan Patten
Tanguy Marquis