Architecture Commons^™

The Deerfield Street Initiative (Greenfield, Ma), Sarah Crowley, Grace Mccab, Toriellen Swistak, Alec Wade, August Williams-Eynon

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The goal of the Master of Regional Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and then presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, and charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings.

For the fall 2018 Planning Studio, the Town of Greenfieldtasked the Masters of Regional Planning Studio to prepare …

Imagine Community, Imagine Home (Chicopee, Ma), Christian Appia, Francesca Cigliano, Jenna Davis, Greg Labombard, Kristen Whitmore, Simeng Zhang

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The goal of the Master of Regional Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and then presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, and charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings.

For the fall 2018 Planning Studio, Chicopee tasked the Masters of Regional Planning Studio to prepare a Housing …

Parcel By Parcel In The Three Bays Watershed: Framing Ecological Residential Design For Water Quality, Doug Serrill

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The Three Bays Watershed, located in the Towns of Barnstable, Sandwich, and Mashpee, is facing a crisis of water quality degradation. Excess nitrogen has been identified as the largest contributor to water quality degradation throughout Cape Cod including the Three Bays (Cape Cod Commission, 2015.) Residential waste water systems and non-point sources of pollution including stormwater runoff, and excess fertilization, are identified as the three primary sources contributing 77%, 13% an 10%, respectively, of the excess nitrogen flowing through groundwater and into the bays. Like other watersheds throughout the Cape, Three Bays is largely a residential watershed with 92% of …

Envisioning Resilience & Revitalization In The Apremont Triangle Neighborhood, Andrew Capelluti, Allison Gramolini, Maggie Kraus, Sara Lawler, Mimi Lo, Kate O'Connor, Doug Serrill, Alysha Thompson, Diance Tian

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

ENVISIONING RESILIENCE AND REVITALIZATION IN THE APREMONT TRIANGLE NEIGHBORHOOD

This urban design studio partnered with the City of Springfield to investigate the complexity of issues facing the Apremont Triangle neighborhood within the metro district and develop a range of conceptual designs. The studio focused on developing ideas that improve the livability of the neighborhoods, walkability of streets, and improve the environmental and economic health of the neighborhood. Resiliency in this context means that the neighborhood strives for a social and physical balance.

The Studio began by conducting an inventory and analysis of cultural, economic, and ecological factors that influence the …

Just Big Enough: Imagining The Future Of "Small Home" Residential Design With A Master Plan At The Nexus Of Affordability And Sustainability, Maggie Kraus

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Communities everywhere are experiencing significant and unpredictable shifts in the social and physical infrastructure of their landscapes. In the midst of a cultural, political, and ecological moment which has no precedent, it seems as though many of our contemporary crises have one thing in common: they will either be alleviated or drastically exacerbated by the alliance of professions working to improve the built environment. Now more than ever, the world is in need of designers, planners, and policy-makers who are willing to use this moment of great change as momentum to imagine a new era of community development, one which …

Restoring Landscape Experience: Research & New Design For The Battlefield Landscape Of Minute Man National Historic Park, Kathleen O'Connor

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

This project looked critically at the landscape design of three specific battle locations located in Minute Man National Historical Park: Meriam’s Corner (West Entrance), Paul Revere Capture Site, and Parker’s Revenge (East Main Entrance). The landscape re-designs address three specific goals: 1. Make the landscape central to the visitor experience. 2. Enhance the interpretation of the 1775 landscape of specific sites too often overlooked or passed by. 3. Transform the overall experience of the park through limited interventions at specific sites. The landscape at Minute Man National Historical Park is at present not conveying its historic significance or landscape character …

Envisioning The South End Of Tomorrow: Live, Work And Recreate In A Transforming Neighborhood, Chris Alpay, Leanne Blue, Jon Bronenkant, Hao Fang, Anthony Gemma, Rachel Guilfoil, Silke Henstebeck, Barbara Lampson, Andrew Libby, Kyle Nevarro, Karina Ramos, Stephen Roach, Genevieve Shepard, Jasmine Su

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

ENVISIONING THE SOUTH END OF TOMORROW – Live, Work and Recreate in a Transforming Neighborhood

Background and Challenges

Downtown Springfield is currently undergoing a substantial change of the physical urban fabric. The most visible examples are the construction of the MGM Casino Resort and the renovated Union Station into a multimodal transportation hub. The MGM Casino Resort is the first one in the country that is integrated in a core downtown area. It is obvious that downtown and its adjacent districts will change substantially. How can different uses next to each other coexist productively or can negative influences be being …

Using Phytotechnology To Redesign Abandoned Gas Stations, Matt Hisle

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Hazardous pollutants that exist in contaminated soils represent a threat to human, animal, and environmental health if left unmanaged. Phytoremediation in the U.S. was generally named and formally established in the 1980s and applied as an alternative method using plants to cleanse contaminated soils on site in a more economically and environmentally friendly way than removing contaminated soils off site. High expectations and mixed performances with failures outnumbering successes led to a crash of phytoremediation with a decline in environmental research funding by the early 2000s. “Phyto”, a book by landscape architects Kennen and Kirkwood (2015) recently reintroduces the subject …

Therapeutic Garden Design In Hospice Settings: A Case Study Employing The Lake Superior Hospice Garden In Marquette, Mi, Rose Melody Tapia

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Gardens have been used as places for meditation, relaxation, and restoration through the ages. From the earliest times, gardens were used as sanctuaries and restorative places, providing psychological, spiritual, emotional, and physical health care delivery in Western, Eastern, and Asian societies. In the late twentieth century Roger Ulrich’s (1984) scientific investigations showed the tie between nature’s positive effects on human health and the ability of patients to recover from surgery faster. This and other scientific research gave rise to the creation of therapeutic gardens in healthcare facilities. Today, therapeutic gardens are designed to meet medical goals through activities known to …