Creative Placemaking

The campus of Grandview Terrace in Barre, MA is set in an picturesque New England landscape. The site is surrounded by forest and has a grade that slopes more than 40 feet from one side to another with buildings scattered about. To promote exercise and connection a walking path was designed that circled the property and connected to each building. Seniors living in any of the apartments could access the walking path from their front door. By strategically weaving the path through the property it was designed to traverse the sloping grade without any ramps and at a manageble pitch. Along the path activity nodes were created to further promote interaction between the senior residents. Some of these activity nodes included raised gardens, others were benches with built-in pergolas to rest in the shade. An outdoor exercise area was created using equipment designed to improve mobility. A bocce court was also added outside of the community building for their enjoyment. 

A local artist was brought in to teach mural classes to the seniors, who painted murals of local song birds. These murals were then treated and mounted on the bench pergolas throughout the walking path. Birdhouses were also painted and dispersed along the path.