Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Paving Patterns Enliven Campus Hub

  • 09/01/17
Amherst

Easy maintenance and an intricate, modern pattern were two of the benefits Unilock pavers extended to the lively campus hub developed at Amherst College.

The vision for this 20-acre district near the core of the Amherst College campus was developed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, in collaboration with Beyer Blinder Belle, Payette Architects and Kyu Sung Woo Architects. At the heart of this project is the Amherst College Greenway, a new landscape typology that will serve as a 21st-century complement to the historic Freshman Quad.

Located amidst the rolling hills of western Massachusetts, the campus landscape is an expression of its remarkable context. This strong landscape identity plays a major role in the rituals of campus life — walking to and from class, braving the extremes of the New England climate and gathering with friends on the quad — and does more to color the everyday experience of students, faculty, staff and visitors than any other aspect of the college.

Woven into the generous campus landscape fabric is a network of smaller, intimate gathering spaces designed for the social needs of contemporary undergraduate life. Within this context lies the central courtyard of the new college residences. Mediating significant site grade changes and programmatic challenges, this lively outdoor space focuses on fostering diversity and community engagement, while connecting the past and future of the college.

To achieve the desired paving pattern Unilock supplied two colors of the City Park Paver, Winter Marvel and Midnight Sky using the Umbriano finish. This finish resembles natural granite with the proprietary ColorFusion Technology and the built-in EasyClean Stain Resistance helps to ensure the space is easier to maintain. This unique patterning creates an intricate, modern and stimulating pixelated pattern in the lively hub of residential campus life.

www.unilock.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched the 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which collects data on the previous year’s K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide.

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Lawrence Group Announces Three New Hires

    Integrated planning and design firm Lawrence Group, based in St. Louis, Mo., recently welcomed three new staff members, according to a news release.