HS401, Spring 2014, The Wolf Plaza/Expression Tunnel Project ($27,021), NCSU, Raleigh, NC
Plantings Project was designed and built-in collaboration with the NCSU Grounds Management and Landscape Construction Services (GMLCS) office in the Facilities division. The project included the design development and construction of the ‘signature’ landscape for Wolf Plaza and its immediate surroundings. Wolf Plaza was in need of renovation, and several challenges with the site conditions and culture needed to be addressed. The existing plants were failing, possibly due to poor soil conditions and the effects of heat from underground steam pipes. The landscape around an existing large oak appeared unfinished and ‘leftover’. The plantings on the slope along the ramp from the tunnel were in need of renovation, and the general area was not fostering social interaction. There were also activities like skateboarding and hammock use in the vicinity that could be observed, recorded, and addressed. Students developed designs, construction documents, and cost predictions that responded to these issues, using their site analysis and synthesis. They presented their work to stakeholders and funders, developed the final designs taking their input into account. Students built the design, which consisted primarily of developing appropriate soil profiles and choosing, procuring, and installing boulders and plantings.