Master Plan and Concourse Study
Amherst, MA
UMass Amherst
Higher Education
The SW Complex at UMass Amherst consists of 19 high and low-rise buildings that serve the housing and dining needs of approximately 5,000 students. In the 1960s brutalist style the buildings have proven quite durable, but the site and landscape features were worn and in desperate need of repair and, in many cases, fresh thinking and design approaches.
Sustainable features
The proposed plan eliminated vehicles from open spaces so that students could reclaim a sense of “ownership” and safety. Operational efficiency was improved at services nodes and consolidated the number of services areas down from 24 to 9. Improved equipment and waste removal established a “greener” campus.
Client collaboration
S E A worked with UMass to analyze the site and underground utilities, prepare an overall strategic master plan, and develop more detailed design options for the southwest concourse; the primary pedestrian link to the core academic campus. S E A expanded the master plan to suggest enhancements to surrounding parking lots to create green buffers and future development sites.