SCUP Excellence in Planning for Restoration/Preservation, Honor Award

Dignity of Restraint: The Historic Landscape Framework Plan at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC and Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects, Chicago, IL

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The goal of the Dignity of Restraint, The Historic Landscape Framework Plan, was to create an historic preservation document and recognize University of North Carolina’s landscape as the connective fabric for the campus. It documents and analyzes the historic core from a natural, scenic, and cultural perspective and provides design strategies and implementation concepts for five distinct sites.

A model for future historic campus planning, it is an example of how to assess the significance of a campus from the perspective of its most dominant yet under-appreciated element – its landscape.

The goals and recommendations in the plan are a roadmap for preserving the unique landscape character of UNC, restore the historic character and plan for smart growth and development.

The student population is expected to exceed 30,000 by 2010. To plan for this growth, the 2001 Master Plan included an environmental master plan and a stormwater management plan. The Landscape Heritage and Plant Diversity Report, approved in 2005, identified and established guidelines to protect and preserve significant trees and landmark spaces.

To document the evolution of physical and cultural change over five distinct eras and identify their significance, the team examined five landmark landscapes through cultural, natural and scenic ‘lenses.’ Each area is significant in its own right and collectively contributes to the campus experience.

The plan outlines strategies and recommendations specific to each site to preserve, rediscover, and reaffirm the historical, scenic, and botanical significance of this landmark campus.

Several campus projects resulted from this document including a tree guide to educate campus visitors on the University’s noble tree landscape. The Kenan Woods Forest Regeneration Project developed a reforestation strategy for immediate and annual planting, consistent maintenance, and soil amendment/analysis to maintain and enhance historic and future woodland character.

The project integrated cultural, scenic, and natural values into the decision-making process including technical research and analysis on existing trees, soils, stormwater, and plant diversity. Along with historic and cultural values, these new foundations increased knowledge of the campus’ evolution beyond structures and trees. To honor this heritage, recommendations strove to preserve and reveal character-defining features and relationships that are historically significant and accommodate change.

The jury said “. . . project was well-documented, clear and concise . . . acknowledged the essential nature of a changing landscape.”

Project Team: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects, with The Cultural Landscape Foundation; Michael Dirr; Urban Trees & Soils; F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company and ColeJenest & Stone