Creating a more beautiful world
Archived article from Sep 23, 2002
By Michele Hujber
As you travel around the United States, you might be surprised to learn that graduates of Cook College's landscape architecture program have had a hand in shaping so many parks, plazas and other outdoor spaces.
In Washington, D.C., for instance, Constitution Gardens, located on the Mall, were designed by a Rutgers alumnus. Another graduate once served as Central Park's deputy administrator of capital projects. Yet another is director of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, an internationally renowned organization that advances the conservation of natural resources throughout the world. Two alumni helped develop Animal Kingdom, a Walt Disney World theme park.
The landscape architecture program is offered as an option in the environmental planning and design curriculum. In addition to classroom instruction, each semester Cook students participate in various design studio projects, which give them practical experience addressing real-world landscaping issues faced by local communities.
"The mission of the design studios and other courses is to make sure that the land, especially in New Jersey, is being used wisely," says department chair Steven Strom. "We stress the importance of accommodating human activity while minimizing the negative impact on natural and cultural systems."
Here are just two examples of recent projects.
Visions for a new neighborhood
It seemed a perfect match. Milltown, a working-class town, was looking for new ways to use the land occupied by abandoned manufacturing plants. Strom was looking for a project for his "Advanced Landscape Architecture Studio," preferably one that would include service to a municipality.
Although Milltown did not have a firm budget for redevelopment of the site, it had applied for a Smart Growth Planning Grant from the state and was ready to take a serious look at its options.
"We hoped that collaboration with the Cook students would lead to better planning and better outcomes," says Carlos Rodrigues, acting director of the Office of Smart Growth and a part-time instructor in the landscape architecture department.
Milltown Mayor Gloria Bradford was also enthusiastic. She provided preliminary data for the class and then invited the students to tour the site guided by municipal officials. "The only ‘musts' we gave them were that the site had to provide housing for seniors, accommodate a firehouse and increase the tax revenues of the town," the mayor recalls.
Over the next several months, the students could be seen taking copious notes at the site and around the town. They focused on community design issues, such as parking, access to the pond that is mostly hidden by the property, creation and preservation of open space, preserving architectural aspects of the site and the reuse of existing buildings.
Their recommendations included rehabilitating buildings and developing parks and trails, restaurants and other retail businesses, a fire station, and low-impact, high-value-added manufacturing. "Interestingly," noted Bradford, "most of the students chose to retain as many of the current buildings as possible."
"As is usually the case," says Strom, "the student proposals were way beyond the budgets of even our wealthiest municipalities. But the project met its objective by illustrating the possibilities. In the long run, this will save the town a lot of time because the students' visions will help the community decide what they would like to see on the site."
Bradford was particularly impressed with the way the students blended various possibilities together in the recommendations. "It was an eye-opener. It started us thinking about what could happen once we get past such basics as appraising the property, testing the soil and purchasing the property. When we do hire a landscape architecture firm, we will definitely be sharing some of the students' recommendations with them."
Taking that next step should happen fairly soon. Milltown was awarded a Smart Growth Planning Grant this summer.
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