Studio Projects

The BSLA Senior Urban Design Studio, taught by Michael DiPasquale and Joshua Burgel, is envisioning strategies to transform a large brownfield swath of open parking lot, generic park, and recently redeveloped mill buildings into a vibrant community oriented space that welcomes new people to build lives in Lawrence, MA. Students work on different time scales, from short term tactical interventions in landscape architecture and public art; to mid-term transitional landscapes that serve people and the environment, and long term cultural transformations capable of regenerating the region.  Meetings and interviews with community stakeholders and experts have honed the studio's objectives into their final design and planning program.  The studio's goal is to create project visions that will INSPIRE Lawrence City agencies to make change.

Located within Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord, MA, Minute Man National Historical Park comprises 1,038 acres of preserved historic sites, structures, and landscapes associated with the opening battles of the American Revolution. UMass students, taught by Doug Serrill, were asked to develop conceptual designs for a new visitor center, parking area, and arrival experience to the park's Battle Road Unit that reduces the need for continual staff presence, yet continues to provide a high quality educational and interpretive experience for visitors.

Each year, MRP students work together to carry out a planning project. The goal of this year's "RP 675: Impact 2045" studio, taught by Camille Barchers, is to produce core elements of the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) for the New Haven-Milford Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in Connecticut. The plan aims to help towns across the MSA chart their course of action for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2040.

This international project offers students the opportunity to enhance their global perspectives on landscape architecture. Working individually and in teams, students are synthesizing information on climate change mitigation strategies and developing innovative solutions for urban resilience in Bangkok, Thailand with a focus on the Chao Phraya River. The studio is being taught by Dalin Janpathompong. 

Graphic: Photomontage depicted in the Concept Design and Site Analysis for Mahakan Fort Park, designed by Carrie Gotwals and Elise Rossell. The park is situated along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok.

Studio LA301's project centers on Adirondack Farm, a historic farm adjacent to the North Watuppa Pond in Fall River, MA.  The site was recently acquired by the City of Fall River to serve as the location of a "Discovery Center" for the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve.  BSLA students in the class are exploring how to create a public landscape on the farm that will welcome visitors, build habitat, and help visitors better understand the value of the Bioreserve for regional biodiversity and climate resilience. The studio is being instructed by Nate Burgess and LARP alumna Julia Slater.

Landscape architecture students are exploring the integration of renewable energy technologies, such as a geothermal heating system, into the village of South Deerfield, MA. Projects also propose expanded park spaces, bike lanes, and tree canopy, affordable senior housing, and an integrated municipal campus. This studio is instructed by Carolina Aragon.

In this studio, taught by Patricia McGirr, students learn how to use the shape and elevation of a landscape to create outdoor stairs and pathways. Students advance their skills in creating contour line drawings, 3D landform models, and graphic design renderings.

BSLA sophomores and landscape contracting students in the Fundamentals Studio, taught by Jane Thurber and Michael Davidsohn, learn the fundamentals of landscape design. Students first learn how to create 2D line drawings and then advance to 3D relief models, grading plans, and, finally, cardboard landform models representing gardens.