Spring 2001

At your service
By Shari Gasper


Campus Conversion

Across town, the campus of Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School is getting a facelift, thanks to another group of landscape architecture students. Central Catholic originally requested a new planting plan, but keen students, as instructed by their professor, Paul Siciliano, looked beyond the spoken needs of the client. They began to interpret and address other areas for site improvements and recognized a need for more than a well-designed planting plan.

Last fall, students created a site design to connect the various parts of the Central Catholic campus. Their goal was to give shape, form and coherence to the campus, with plants serving as the connective element.

"By working in the community, students are able to apply classroom theory to a real-life project," says Siciliano. "And students get an opportunity to see how their improvements really make a difference."

More than 45 students worked in small teams to develop plans for the Central Catholic campus. Then they presented their suggestions, which included creating various plazas, improving traffic flow and parking lots, relocating the existing grotto, and adding new lighting, signage and walkways. The Central Catholic building committee reviewed the teams' ideas and is currently deciding on where to begin the improvements.

"The ideas the students presented went beyond the scope of what we thought could be done," says David Worland, Central Catholic principal. "We received a lot of ideas for future plans and growth."

An Artistic Vision

Students have also provided a helping hand at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation, which is housed in the Wells Community Cultural Center in downtown Lafayette. Under the supervision of professor Greg Pierceall, students came up with a plan to turn the outdoor property into a work of art. "The students redesigned the entire front yard by removing certain plants and planting new ones," says Suzie Coles, director of the Tippecanoe Arts Federation. "Our lawn is so colorful now. There is always something in bloom." Students in Pierceall's classes have returned twice each year for the past two years to maintain the property.