Temple’s largest landscape project to date, Liacouras Walk South completes the main internal north/south pedestrian corridor for this urban campus. The project, nicknamed “The Cut,” forms a new southern gateway for the university and a significant gathering place for Temple’s students, faculty, administration, and visitors. “The Cut” serves as critical connective tissue on the University’s campus, establishing both pass through and place – a vibrant landscape to hang out and connect.
The landscape acts as a gateway for pedestrians walking to and from Temple’s academic buildings, student housing, public transportation, and the fabric of the neighborhood. In the site’s new iteration, Land Collective aligns the main circulation path – “The Cut” – directly through the center of the site, establishing complementary social spaces on either side. Individuals and groups can choose where they feel most comfortable to facilitate dialogue and belonging. On the west side, a new sloped lawn, backed by a curving bench, focuses attention toward those arriving from the south and those enjoying the opposite, complementary plaza. On the east side, that plaza is defined by a sculptural fountain with jets that form the terminus to the walk from the north. Two cascades on this chevron-shaped waterscape embrace the tables and chairs at which students, faculty, and community gather. The inwardly-facing forms of lawn-with-bench and fountain-with-plaza look as though they were once one, but the main walkway has sliced through and seismically-shifted them, so that they relate to the north and south ends of the walk. “The Cut” is bookended by custom wood slat seats, offering places to see and be seen. Pass through becomes theater. Additional seating to the north is situated under preserved, mature, and overhanging trees to create smaller-scale opportunities to pause and converse.
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