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typical spring afternoon in Ann Arbor: a Fris-
bee whizzing through the air in the Arb; a
lone student resting beneath a tree in the Diag,
listlessly flipping through the pages of a worn
paperback; open lawns scattered throughout campus dot-
ted with hundreds basking in the sun. Appreciated by
most but understood by few, these green spaces of campus
often go unnoticed by the University community beyond
the spring and summer months. But for Ken Rapp, the
University's landscape architect, these areas of refuge are
more than just a comfortable place to lounge when the sun
reemerges in Ann Arbor after dreary, gray winters - they
are his life's work.
Rapp has been employed by the Uni-
versity for 23 years and has seen the
campus evolve in a variety of ways.
"There's not a place on campus
where you can't go to and turn in a
circle and see somethingthat I've done
over that time frame," he said.
His work, landscape architecture,
refers to all aspects of the landscape
- from the plants and trees, to the
walkways and fountains - and the
socio-behavioral and aesthetic out-
comes of these outdoor spaces.
The University first made a major
investment in landscape architecture
in the 1960's, hiring the firm Johnson,
Johnson & Roy to guide the develop-
ment of the University's master plan in
1963. And since then, Rapp and his pre-
decessors have been constantly plan-
ning, designing and redesigning the
University's landscape.
Joan Nassauer, a professor in the
School of Natural Resources, said
the University's landscape exists to
make a lasting first impression and to
please those who are on campus every
day.
"We come here sort of with height-
ened expectations," she said of the
campus community. "(Landscape
architecture) creates an opportunity
to organize the outdoor spaces of a
campus in a way that is essentially wel-
coming to people who are here for a
brief time and that is stimulating in all
the right ways for people that are here
using their minds and growing their
minds."~
She also noted that the landscape of
a university's campus is vastly different
from other types of landscape architec-
ture, such as at corporate buildings or
malls.
"The type of environment that
would be (stimulating for) people who
are here engaged in a scholarly endeav-
or is different from the kinds of envi-
ronment that would be stimulating for
people who are, say, going shopping,"
she said.
Subsequently, Nassauer added, the
type of planning and research that goes
into designing a university campus dif-
fers dramatically from other public
spaces.
Mary Carol Hunter, another profes-
sor in the School of Natural Resources,
said a campus environment is unique
in that people actually live within the
space rather than just observe it.
"For campus you want to have space
for people to just be," Hunter said. "So
you don't want to have it all shrubbed
up and stuff like that. You want to have
spaces that people can move in and out
of and through very easily."
For example, Rapp said the grassy
knolls between Dennison and East
Hall used to be lined with shrubs, but
he decided to remove them to make
the spaces more accessible. He said the
small change has had a huge impact
on how students use the space, which
is now almost always occupied in the
spring and summer.
"Sometimes it's a big change and
sometimes it's a little change, where
you just notice that this would be much
better used if we were to rearrange this
or change something - make it differ-
ent," he said.
Rapp said the University assigns
three levels of priority to areas on cam-
pus. Some places on and around North
Campus are classified as level three,
and receive the lowest level of mainte-
nance to preserve their natural state.
Areas like the Diag and the Law
Quad, which are more trafficked and
historically significant, receive top lev-
els of maintenance. In selecting these
areas - deemed "more iconic spaces"
- Rapp said he thinks about what plac-
es are campus attractions.
"When we started developing the
priority levels, we looked at where are
the places on campus that are destina-
tion points," he said. "Where do people
come to see things on campus?"
As a member of the Midwest Land-
scape Architects and Ground Manag-
ers - an informal group that meets
once a year - Rapp is looking to host
this year's annual event here at the
University this June. He plans to give a
tour of campus and explain University
practices as they relate to architectural
landscaping.
Many Big Ten schools are represent-
ed in the group, along with the Uni-
versity of Nebraska, the University of
Missouri and other large universities
across the country. When compared
to other campuses Rapp has visited in
past years as a member of the group, he
believes the University's is one of the
best in terms of overall look and layout.
Slightly removed from campus,
Rapp's office, along with that of
the Grounds Department, sits
in a building on East Madison. With a
budget of $750,000 a year for internal
projects, the University covers the cost
of plants and installation labor. Rapp
works on about half of the University's
landscape projects, while the other
half is contracted out to independent
landscape architecture firms.
One of these firms, Johnson, John-
son & Roy, was founded in part by Bill
Johnson, a former dean of the School
of Natural Resources at the University.
The firm got its start working for the
University, and now heads up projects
for multiple college campuses around
the country.
The University has hired JJR for a
variety of recentprojects, includingthe
site design for the Ross School of Busi-
ness and the new Hill Dining Center.
The work involved in these projects
includes designing the plans for pave-
ment and landscaping.
Oliver Kiley, a site designer for JJR,
graduated from the School of Natural
Resources' graduate program in 2008.
He said it's sometimes difficult for
people to understand the scope of land-
scape architecture, noting that most
immediately think about residential
landscapes rather than urban land-
scapes like the university campuses.
"If you say that you're an architect,
people are really clear on what that is.
If you say you're a landscape architect,
people think, 'Oh, you're out planting
flowers at someone's house,' "he said.
Before becoming professionals,
landscape architects must pass a
national exam. Kiley will take the first
part of his qualifying test in March.
Nassauer, who served as Kiley's gradu-
ate advisor, said that the exam is in
place to protect public health, as land-
scape architects often create master
city plans that include the designation
of roads and buildings.
Kiley said that students are some-
times oblivious to the history of the
landscape of campus. For example, he
said, the pedestrian mall in between
the Dana Building and the Dennison
Building used to be a road, but due to
safety concerns with so many students
in the area, the University decided to
remove the road.
When a new building is con-
structed or a new space
opens on campus, Rapp's
team typically heads the landscape
planning, unless the University decides
to outsource the project. Many projects
begin in the Architecture, Engineering
and Construction department of the
University, and then the plans make
their way to Rapp's desk.
Once his team decides what spaces
should be occupied by plants, grass and
sidewalks, the Grounds Department's
Forestry and Horticulture staff selects
specific types and species of plants for
the area.
Rapp's team is currently working on
a project to renovate the courtyard in
the Michigan League. The courtyard is
only accessible bya set of steps, and the
University would like to make it wheel-
chair-accessible by adding a ramp.
"It's a little tricky because people
have strong feelings about that space
and there's a lot of historical character
over there," Rapp said of the League.
"So we're trying to be very careful and
respectful to that while we modernize
it and make it more useful to that new
use, new requirements."
Rapp said his job often requires him
to consider the historical character of
campus because when alumni return
to Ann Arbor, they want it to look the
same as when they left.
"No matter how new something is,
we tryto make it look as if it has always
been there," Rapp said.
n the two decades Rapp has been
with the University, researchers
like Nassauer have been working to
find more environmentally sustainable
ways to design landscapes and have
introduced higher standards for suc-
cessful landscapes.
Nassauer came to the University
with the intention to continue her work
on more environmentally sensitive
practices in landscape architecture. In
her time here, she developed the term
"cultural sustainability" - maintain-
ing a balance between environmentally
sustainable practices and fulfilling the
public's expectations of an appealing
landscape.
According to Nassauer, the Univer-
sity has a great opportunity to embrace
this new research and teach these
practices through example to the rest
of the country.
"You don't get people to change by
saying (they) should like something
different. You get people to change by
showing them something different
that they discover they have a positive
response to," she said. "(There is an)
enormous opportunity for the Univer-
sity to construct a landscape that helps
people see the possibilities in a differ-
ent way."
Rapp believes North Campus is
the ideal area to introduce these new
practices. In the process of trying-to
give North Campus its own distinct
identity, the University has increased
measures that emphasize its natural
environment.
The Grounds Department has
stopped mowing one million square
feet of grass on North Campus because
the field was not being used. The grass
will help retain storm water more
effectively if it is left un-mowed.
Two years ago, the University com-
pleted a burnout on North Campus to
mimic the Earth's natural cycle. By
purposefully creating a fire, humans,
can refresh the nutrients in the soil,
benefiting the plant life in the area.
Budget cuts within Rapp's depart-
ment have also spurred sustainabil-
-ity in a roundabout way. Last July, the
University cut funds for annual bulbs -
flowers that bloom seasonally and are
subsequently removed.
The University typically plantsthese
bulbs in the spring to bloom in the fall,
and then replaces them with bulbs that
will bloom in the spring. This past fall,
the flowers were removed on schedule,
but no new bulbs were planted.
Rapp said that while students will
most likely notice the lack of colorful
flowers on campus around the time of
commencement, the change will save
the University $185,000 a year.
"For years, particularly right by Bur--
ton Tower, we've tried to choose tulip
bulbs that will bloom the exact week
of commencement so they're in full
bloom," he said. "I've seen thousands of
students get their picture taken in front
of those tulip bulbs."
Despite the lack of photo opportuni-
ties, Rapp has taken a positive attitude
toward the change, saying it will force
his department to examine the prac-
tice of taking things in and out of the
ground. He said that many of the annu-
al bulbs his team was planting were
meant to grow in the tropics, and the
practic'e of letting them die and then
pulling them up is not a very environ-
mentally sensitive process.
"Our goal is to still keep a lotof color
on campus because it definitely adds to
the atmosphere and the enjoyment of
the campus, but I think we'll be look-
ing at trying to do it in different ways,"
he said.
T hough students will likely miss
the color provided by the annual
bulbs, according to researchers,
the change should not have an effecton
the mood of people on campus.
Professors Steve and Rachel Kaplan
have done extensive research on the
effect of the natural environment on
humans. They said that while color
is attractive, what the mind really
responds to is the presence of trees.
By studying public housing in Chi-
cago, the Kaplans found that residents
who had trees visible from their win-
dows showed a higher capacity to make
long-term goals and greater civility
than residents who did not have visible
trees.
They also found that students suf-
fering from mental fatigue felt better
after taking a walk outside, stating that
these students reported much more
energy after taking a study break to
stroll around outside than they did
after taking a study break to watch
television.
Despite these positive effects, the
Kaplans said the importance of seeing
the natural world, namely trees, is still
largely unrealized by most, including
officials at the University.
Steve Kaplan said that while some
are coming around to the positive
effects of trees, the University is not
among that group.
See LANDSCAPE, Page 7B