Campus Framework Plan, Quad, and Wedge Terrace Enhance the Student Experience
With the addition of Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s new 500-space parking garage and elevated athletic fields, the school was looking to re-orient the campus in response to this major change to its composition. Working with WPI’s Facilities Department, Halvorson | Tighe & Bond Studio developed a campus-wide conceptual framework plan to address the areas of greatest need.
With new parking concentrated away from the center of campus, the first priority was to redesign The Quad, creating a strong, central community and gathering space for students and faculty. Halvorson accomplished this by realigning accessible walkways, which also provide for donor recognition opportunities; improving drainage on the active, almost level lawn; and providing large trees for definition and shade. Concurrently, the team designed the Wedge Dining Terrace to solve accessibility issues and provide an outdoor dining terrace that, although adjacent to the Quad, is a destination in itself.
The campus framework plan addresses logistical challenges and prioritizes projects that will allow the school to accomplish their goals as the campus evolves. Halvorson continues to work with WPI to implement individual areas of the plan.
