The Design Building at the University of Massachusetts is the new home of the Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, and Building and Construction Technology Departments. After years of consideration, bringing these four disciplines together under one roof was a historic move that provides unprecedented opportunities for integrated learning about the built and natural environments. In recent decades, the site had become an expansive parking lot and contributed to the siltation of the campus pond. The same landscape was the actual location of the Landscape Architecture Department’s test plots in the early 1900’s. The need to restore a functioning ecosystem and the expression of horticultural experimentation were paramount to the design process. Designed in unison, the building and site have a responsiveness to each other, collaborating towards the common goal of making the working systems visible and uncomplicated. With exposed timber frame building construction, regionally inspired gardens and green infrastructure, the project establishes a new ecological and creative standard for design students and academia, both inside and outdoors.

Recognition
LEED Gold
Boston Society of Landscape Architects | Merit Award 2018
Society for College and University Planning | Merit Award 2018

Collaborators
Leers Weinzapfel Architects
Nitsch Engineering
Atelier Ten

Photography
Ngoc Doan
Stephen Stimson