UMass Amherst: NRE Year in Review

Inspired by the classics

Last spring, 17 students in Professor Jack Ahern's Landscape Architecture Study Tour class experienced first hand the splendor of the great urban spaces of Italy. Senior Joe Coan says it was "a great opportunity to see St. Peter's Basilicas ... one of the greatest urban plazas in the world, and we got to see it right after we learned about it." Senior Pat Callahan adds, "You get a feel for where it all came from and how it all came together."

"Traveling is important because going to other cultures and other locations opens your eyes literally to new landscapes," says Jack. Before the trip, students were assigned a villa, piazza, or a piece of architecture to research. Upon arrival at the site they studied, each gave a verbal presentation to the rest of the class. "It was just amazing to actually be up close and personal with everything because it's a different story when you read it in books and when you actually see it," says Junior Danielle Mellett.

After their return, students created a website to build a library of information for other students. The site offers images, a critique, plans, a personal account, and some useful visitation information.

"I think it was very important for me to see these things because I'm going to be designing in the future," says first-year graduate student Robert Dizel. Jack agrees, "It gets these students to think a little more broadly about the world. When they come back from a trip like that, and they've had that experience, it influences what they do."