Mt. St. Mary's
Emmitsburg , MD

Following the design of campus master plan by Ayers/Saint/Gross which included landscape architectural design guidelines, the university asked Ayers/Saint/Gross to design a landscaped plaza to be completed in time for their 2007 bicentennial celebration.

The Founders’ Plaza was sited is by Ayers/Saint/Gross’s Master Plan and will be located at what is one of the main visual axes into the campus. The plaza is placed in this location in the heart of the campus where it acts as a main pedestrian intersection and gathering space. It celebrates the life of the founder of the university, John DuBois, whose image is captured by a sculpture which is the focus of the plaza.

The plaza is centered on the main campus path which leads up to the Terraces, an historic structure that is home to many of the schools’ students. It is also in front of Flynn Hall which is due to be converted into a campus book store or theater. The new plaza provides a garden area in front of Flynn Hall with loose seating for building’s future programmatic use. In contrast, more formal hardscaped plaza is provided on the other side of the central path where the statue of John DuBois is positioned on a boulder. This area of the plaza also contains a reflecting pool and wall of water which intersect with the boulder.

The materials of each area of the plaza reflect the harder and softer nature of the individual spaces. The site elements are taken directly from the landscape architectural guidelines, including the paving materials, the lighting, the seating, the tree selection and the other site furnishings. This will be the first project to be built using the material selections recommended by the guidelines, and will begin to create a consistent landscape palette across the campus. The new residence hall, also by Ayers/Saint/Gross, will also use the landscape guidelines as a basis of the design.

Completion: 2007
Size: 1 Acre
Cost: $1,000,000