Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray released the Sustainable DC Vision Plan, the first published installment of the District’s ambitious 20-year plan to become the “the healthiest, greenest, and most livable city in the United States.” Ayers Saint Gross led the consultant team for this project, and is working with the Mayor’s team, the District Office of Planning, the District Department of the Environment, and the interested public, to develop, test, refine, and communicate the Sustainable DC Plan.
Ayers Saint Gross is working on the St. Elizabeths East master plan, which is approximately 170 acres in the Congress Heights neighborhood and represents one of the largest single redevelopment opportunities in the District. Due to its size and scope the redevelopment of the East Campus will take time and occur in multiple phases.
Through their strict focus, client list, research and services, Ayers Saint Gross has built a solid reputation and positioned itself as a resource for anything related to campus planning. The firm and its website is the single place a university need look to compare their campus with other schools, to access an image resource library, to find research and whitepapers on the latest trends and to hire top tier planning and design services.
The College recently called for student input in creating the Campus Master Plan, a yearlong process for renovating existing spaces, redesigning campus infrastructure and constructing new buildings. Students discussed these plans with consultants from Ayers Saint Gross (ASG), the architecture firm hired by the College to design the plan.
The Catholic University of America has partnered with the renowned architectural firm Ayers Saint Gross of Baltimore to develop the campus ‘Master Plan,’ which will drastically alter campus over the next decades, while highlighting the architecturally pleasing buildings.
Catholic University is envisioning big changes to its campus. According to the proposed long-range Master Plan, the University hopes to replace a number of its campus streets with elegant walking paths; build villages of residence halls centered on a chapel; and substitute green spaces for parking lots that distract from its historic buildings. Cathy Wood, vice president for finance and treasurer, is heading the Master Plan project, in consultation with architects from Ayers Saint Gross and members of the University and the neighboring community.
Virginia Commonwealth University is preparing to take another look at its boundaries. The board of visitors Thursday approved a contract to update its master plan to guide development for both the academic and medical campuses over the next six years and beyond. The contract was awarded to Richmond-based BCWH Architects, working with Ayers Saint Gross Architects of Baltimore.
Towson University’s new $11 million gateway off Towsontown Boulevard is nearly complete, and those involved with the project say it’s a key element in setting the campus identity.
“If you ask freshmen why they chose their colleges, they usually say one of two things,” says Baltimore architect Adam Gross, who’s worked on projects at the University of Virginia and Swarthmore. “Either they got a good financial aid package or they thought the campus was beautiful.”
With University of Colorado at Colorado Spring’s strategic plan set to expire next June, 2012, Aug. 30 marked the Chancellor’s opening forum for updating the strategic plan. Consultant Ayers Saint Gross will assist in planning the entire UCCS landscape, and because UCCS property sits within the North Nevada Avenue urban renewal zone, the funding for this consulting will come largely in part from the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority.
