KMDG is designing landscape improvements associated with a major renovation and addition to the 1974 Louis A. Olney Science Center at UMass Lowell. Project goals include improving the experience of arrival to the campus from the north, providing welcoming and accessible circulation routes to connect the Olney addition with surrounding facilities and spaces, creating appealing outdoor gathering and spill-out spaces that support the building’s program; and mediating substantial grade change within a constrained site to accommodate a new loading dock location and associated below-grade facilities.

On the north side of the site, the project abuts a loop drive for campus shuttle buses that has been reconfigured to reduce pedestrian-vehicular conflicts. Plantings of rugged, hardy native species within the loop drive soften the expanse of hardscape and improve the arrival experience. Sculptural seating steps offer students a place to pause and wait under cover of the cantilevered addition for shuttle buses. To the east of the addition, an on-structure terrace nestled into a landscape of diverse native tree and low shrub plantings provides seating and small gathering space for everyday use as well as flexible space for larger events.