Massey College Landscape Restoration

With Massey College (1963), architect Ron Thom reconceived the traditional Oxbridge quad as a unique, modern masterpiece. PLANT was the landscape sub-consultant to Montgomery Sisam and EVOQ on a 2021 feasibility study for renewing this graduate residence to improve accessibility, building performance and utility, and the courtyard’s event-venue suitability, while preserving the college’s heritage architecture and character.

PLANT’s plan expands the stepped courtyard’s central lawn and creates an accessible path to new accessible suites. This includes a new sloped walkway to the main entry, with an extended handrail to mark its location within the quad. The initiatives promote existing tree canopy health, give a mature silver maple more root space, and retain the distinctive jogged-edge quality of the quad and pond. We worked closely with the architects to determine where basement-brightening light wells could be placed without damaging tree roots and where ivy removal would be structurally beneficial. We also developed the design and planting strategies for a proposed rooftop terrace.