A Stream Runs Through It: Reconnecting Watershed and Landscape at the University of Maryland

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Title of thesis: A STREAM RUNS THROUGH IT:

RECONNECTING WATERSHED AND LANDSCAPE

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

Deborah Anne Bauer, Master of Architecture 2008

Thesis directed by: Professor Guido Francescato, Fall 2006--Fall 2007

Professor Ralph Bennett, AIA, Spring 2008

School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

This thesis investigates roles that the built environment can play in restoring the urban watershed and reconnecting a community with the landscape sheltering that watershed. The site for this investigation is Campus Creek, a stream that traverses the width of the University of Maryland, College Park campus. Until now the creek has been utilized primarily to drain storm water from adjacent paved surfaces, resulting in an eroding streambed rendered all but invisible by chain link fence, trash and dense undergrowth.

The revival of the stream and adjacent ecosystems will be accompanied by the introduction of structures that employ sustainable strategies artfully, reframe the landscape, and encourage exploration while protecting sensitive resources. Three undergraduate environmental science programs will share the building and monitor the restoration of the creek. The section of Campus Creek west of the Campus Recreation Center, and adjacent areas, comprises the thesis site.