Amherst, MA

 

The new Computer Science Laboratory at UMass Amherst will be a new focal point of north campus. It connects to the campus core along an existing North-South path, and a series of East-West paths connect the existing and new buildings, moving students through rain gardens on a series of ramp/bridges. The design accommodates many opportunities for outdoor gathering spaces. These include a small terrace at the new north entry with casual seating along a berm at the existing building and an event lawn to the north which can support two 40’x60’ tents. The landscape design makes stormwater management an amenity by using a series of terraced rain gardens to navigate the grade change from east to west. The accessible route moves through lush tree and meadow plantings. Flooding problems to the south are solved by pitching the landscape away from the building and into a series of rain gardens with detention capacity. Lawn not used for events is replaced by a low-mow native meadow, which will reduce water use for irrigation, chemical inputs from fertilization, and emissions from mowing. Blue roofs contribute to stormwater management by providing retention capacity.

 

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Team: Crowley Cottrell, Perkins Eastman, Nitsch Engineering