The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Greenspace and Lake Elissa

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Greenspace and Lake Elissa (general view), Ursuline College

Greenspace and Lake Elissa (partial view), Ursuline College

Institution Name: Ursuline College
Original/Historic Place Name: Greenspace and Lake Elissa
Location on Campus:
Date(s) of Construction and Designer(s):

1966	original construction

Type of Place: Landscape site
Type of landscape–

Distinct topography:
The rolling hills and ponds are an integral and harmonizing component of the campus environment that includes undisturbed areas of marshland and trees.
Constructed water features:
Yes
Small-scale features:
Yes
Large-scale features:
The lake is a central natural feature of the campus; two dormitories and the Pilla Student Center are sited to take advantage of the water views; surrounding the lake are a putting green, benches for conversation, and a labyrinth for meditation and reflection; green space and purposeful campus vistas offer respite from frenetic urban life, supporting conversation and contemplation and demonstrating the Ursuline mission to provide an educational experience that supports the individual in a holistic community with opportunities for academic, social, physical and spiritual growth; one writer described the incorporation of campus architecture with the natural environment as "modernism with a light hand."
Other characteristics:
Yes

Function:

ca. 1966-present (2007)

outdoor space

Significance: education, landscape
Landmark designation:

none

Narrative: see below
References: see below

Narrative:
The college campus is located in an area of rapidly expanding urban development. Its twenty acres of trees and natural wetlands as well as the more developed portions of the 110.5-acre parcel adjacent to the Ursuline Educational Center owned by the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland are a unique environmental asset. Newly completed athletic facilities and playing fields as well as the recently opened Pilla Center changed the locus of campus activity but have essentially left the green space and vistas intact. This re-allocation of space makes the campus environment more accessible to the changing needs of students and encourages greater interaction with the outside community.

References:

I. Bibliographic sources:

None specified.

II. Location of other data:

University: Facilities Management Office