Campus Landscape Projects

To help create a cohesive campus the site amenities are consistent across campus.  The campus standard pieces have been tested over time and proven to be durable in our tough Wisconsin winters and hold up to intense use of a campus setting.

Contact Jonathan Bronk with your site amenity questions.

In regard to individual plant selection, our landscape architects work with UW Grounds to meet the over arching goals of the campus landscape as well as selecting the ‘right plant, for the right place’ in the context of the university setting.

1. Functionally: What do you want the plant to do?
2. Aesthetically: What do you want the plant to look like?
3. Environmentally: What conditions does the plant need to grow?
4. Educationally: Is the academic body requesting this plant for educational use?

In addition the following considerations included in plant selections:

• Climate Control
• Visual Control
• Physical Control
• Erosion Control
• Stormwater Management
• Noise and Odor Management
• Color, Texture, Form, Size (in all seasons)
• Soil Conditions
• Light Levels
• Water Quality
• USDA Plant Hardiness
• Temperature Ranges
• Wind Tolerance
• Disease and Pest Interactions
• Air Pollution
• Snow and Salt Tolerance
• Life Span
• Level of Maintenance
• Cultural Significance
• Quantity/Abundance Existing on Campus

The Framework Plan sets out challenging goals for restoring and enhancing the great outdoor spaces of this university. It reflects the highest aspirations of aesthetics, ecology, and landscape performance. Much like the 1908 Campus Framework Plan by Laird & Cret, not every goal is meant to be achieved in the immediate or even distant future. A grand, sweeping vision is necessary in order to plan for the next generation. Just as the UW Board of Regents in 1894 recognized that knowledge never reaches its final goals and requires continual “sifting and winnowing”, it is the role of the design teams and the university to understand that the campus will never reach a final state of completion. It is a living organism that is in a constant state of change. For this reason the Campus Master Plan is designed to be flexible, guiding our future progress while staying firmly grounded in the natural and cultural heritage all around us.

The Landscape Master Plan lays out a general framework for the ‘spaces between campus buildings’ as well as identifies seven goals for landscape introductions.  These goals are meant to be a metric by which we can measure success at a campus scale.

1. Protect and enhance open spaces and create new gathering spaces.
2. Maintain lands in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve as undeveloped natural areas that support our mission of teaching, research, and outreach.
3. Protect and enhance known historical cultural landscapes, quadrangles, and courtyards.
4. Establish open space design principles to guide growth and sustainable development on campus.
5. Provide a campus environment that supports physical, emotional, and psychological well being.
6. Enhance the campus as a living laboratory for teaching, learning, and research.
7. Strengthen the campus connection to Lake Mendota.