Welcome to the project homepage for Greening Acopian!
At the end of January 2020, Lafayette College’s Sustainable Solutions Class accepted a semester-long project, referred to as Greening Acopian, that is directed towards redesigning the northeast side of Acopian Engineering Center. With its current bare and worn appearance, the designated space has become nothing more than a shortcut used by members of the college community when walking towards Markle Parking Deck or Kirby Fitness Center. However, with a project mission to develop a welcoming, multidimensional, and collaborative space that facilitates interaction between students of all different disciplines and interests, the project team has created a proposal to transform the outside of Acopian into something new.
Lafayette Gardens is a space of education, recreation, and place-making for any past, present, or future member of the Lafayette College community. Designed by a team of Engineering Studies students, the proposed layout implements a combination of artistic, technological, and environmental aspects as a way to display Lafayette College’s interdisciplinary approach to education and the liberal arts. For anyone making their way towards Acopian Engineering Center (AEC), Lafayette Gardens will become an eye-catching location that is filled with plants and seating, lined by a border of spires, and featuring a large living wall that runs across the northeast wall of the building’s brick exterior. And while this unique design may be different from most of the remaining infrastructure on campus, its motivation falls perfectly in line with two of Lafayette College’s core values: sustainability and inclusion.
The Greening Acopian website has been developed to provide readers an opportunity to understand what Lafayette Gardens is and how it came about. To read the PDF of the final report, click here. To navigate the website in the same order as the final report, use the links located at the bottom of each page to proceed to the next section. Otherwise feel free to explore and learn about how our team hopes to use Lafayette Gardens to promote sustainability and community at Lafayette College.
Website Contents –
Background:
Designing the Wall:
Structural and Technical – Project Calculations
Conclusion and Recommendations
Resources
Project Timeline:
Click here to proceed to Chapter 1 – Introduction: Why a Living Wall?