Alexander Walk Project Receives Merit Award from ASLA CT
The Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA Connecticut) has announced the winners of its annual Connecticut Professional Awards competition, recognizing excellence in landscape architectural design, planning and analysis, communication, and research.
Towers|Golde has been recognized with a Merit Award for Yale University’s Alexander Walk project in the of Landscape Architectural Design/Built Works - Corporate/Institutional Spaces category.
About Alexander Walk
Many urban universities struggle with issues of campus identity, cohesiveness, and pedestrian safety as their campuses are interrupted by the city street grid. As the culmination of a decades-long process, the transformation of portions of New Haven’s Wall and High streets into a pedestrian promenade renamed Alexander Walk unified Yale University’s campus by knitting together four university-owned blocks into a campus core with a strong sense of place. Two blocks of Wall Street running from York to College Street and two blocks of High Street running from Elm to Grove Street are now universally accessible pedestrian thoroughfares that connect key campus buildings and embrace students, cyclists, and the greater New Haven community.
The project entailed the replacement of concrete sidewalks and asphalt roadbed with lush plant beds and unique concrete unit pavers selected to be visually compatible with adjacent historic limestone facades. Bluestone and granite cobblestone accent paving is flanked by granite planter curbs. Traditional wood and custom granite benches were placed to provide spaces for respite and gathering. Great care was taken to free the existing street trees from restrictive paving.
Historic-style site light poles conceal high-efficiency LED lamps and security is supplemented with blue-light intercoms and cameras. The storm drainage system includes filtration and large below-grade recharge galleries, which take advantage of New Haven’s naturally sandy subsoil.
The result is a vibrant, verdant, and safe space that has fully transformed the core of Yale’s campus.
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