Berklee College of Music, Haviland Street Courtyard

Boston, Massachusetts

Firm

Richard Burck Associates

Client

Berklee College of Music

Area

5,000 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$57,000

The Haviland Street Courtyard is situated at the heart of Berklee College of Music’s campus in Boston. Built atop an elevated parking structure, the 5,000-square-foot project area has direct southern solar exposure and lays only a half-block from constant pedestrian and vehicular traffic flows along Massachusetts Avenue.

The project was conceived when Berklee College of Music began to renovate an existing building on campus. Berklee hired the landscape architect to reimagine the top level of the building’s attached parking structure for what would be its newest classroom and faculty office building.

After thoroughly studying the urban campus, the design team quickly observed that Berklee had no dedicated outdoor space for its students, faculty and staff. Therefore, it was very important to create an open space that would be inviting to its target users—appropriately scaled and comfortably furnished. Particular attention was paid to site detailing, including shallow planting-medium profiles and unobtrusive site lighting.