Yale Science Hill
Yale Science Hill District
New Haven, CT
Immediately north of Yale’s Central Campus, Science Hill is home to world-class institutions, but has long been hampered by fragmented circulation and a piecemeal landscape strategy. The Science Hill Master Plan holistically transforms the hilly site by engaging topography and commanding hillside views; weaving accessible paths through a newly-connective landscape fabric; and expressing the legacy of science and research in new gardens and plaza spaces.
Broken down into nine projects areas with significant new buildings, the master plan’s phased approach to implementation prioritizes an early sense of landscape cohesion. The plan lays out strategies to build up a continuous tree canopy over time, and designs a network of peaceful courtyards, walking paths that mitigate steep topography, and new pedestrian boulevards that create an intuitive sense of place.
This master plan foresees a ten-year campaign to rebuild Science Hill, emphasizing its glacial drumlin landform character, capitalizing on the University gardens, and pursuing an urban forestry management approach—in concert with the Yale School of Forestry—to a significant tree population. Early subprojects of the Plan are currently in design.
While at Reed Hilderbrand, Unknown Studio’s Nick Glase served as Project Manager, and Sr. Landscape Architect on the project through the Master Plan phase. Throughout this project Nick worked closely with the client group and design team Principals Gary Hilderbrand and Beka Sturges.
Project timeline: 2014-2016
Client: Yale University
Scope: Landscape Framework Plan
Size: 70 acres
Budget: $50m over 10 years
With: Reed Hilderbrand LLC, Landscape Architecture, Nick Glase, Project Manager & Landscape Architect
Consultants: Vhb Engineering, Faithful+Gould
