LANDSCAPE DESIGN 2/Project 1
Murphy Sculpture Garden
The Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden is located in an open space within UCLA's North Campus. It is near the school's most prominent arts and theater buildings, as well as other academic buildings and offices. The garden features an important collection of modern and contemporary sculptures, set among lawns, mature trees, and active walking paths.
For this project, students were asked to reimagine the garden using site analysis, concept development, sculpture placement, and site design. The challenge was to introduce a new vision for the landscape while responding to the campus context and its role as an everyday gathering space.
INSTRUCTOR: Jim Smith
JUDGES:
Patricia Trauth
Glen Dake
SCRIBES:
Ricardo Galvez
Kristen Kee
Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden
Mariia Pugacheva
SCASLA - Excellence Award
Judges praised the clear understanding of the site in the site analysis section with strong concept exploration and well drawn perspectives.
This project is a redesign of the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden at UCLA, completed for Landscape Design II. The assignment focused on reimagining the existing sculpture garden while responding to its surrounding architecture, circulation, existing artworks, and campus context.
The design concept, “Infinity,” was developed through a series of conceptual studies inspired by the forms and spatial qualities of selected sculptures. The final proposal uses interconnected elliptical forms to organize circulation, planting, gathering spaces, lawns, an amphitheater, and water features while creating new relationships between landscape and sculpture.
The project documents the complete design process from site analysis and concept development to the final illustrative plan, sculpture placement, sections/elevations, and hand-drawn perspectives.
Murphy Sculpture Garden Redevelopment
Rachel Noll
The nautilus shell was my inspiration for the re-design of the Murphy Sculpture Garden. With long tailed curved seating planters and a living wall in the shape of a nautilus, visitors are enticed to explore the nine curvilinear sculptures placed strategically throughout the garden.