Capitalizing on lakefront proximity and skyline views, Hoerr Schaudt’s work for Northwestern University creates nuanced landscapes that highlight the unique geographic positioning of the University’s core academic buildings while enhancing their connectedness to the broader campus.

Commercial | Academic

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Kellogg School of Management

Hoerr Schaudt collaborated with KPMB Architects to create a new home for Northwestern University’s prestigious Kellogg School of Management. The site – situated along the northern edge of the campus pond with unobstructed views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline, – serves as a pedestal for the sculptural form of the structure.

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Fostering a dialogue with the building’s curving form, the centerpiece of the landscape is an elliptical garden that creates a verdant forecourt to the entrance. Here, a lush meadow replete with native and adapted plant species becomes an ever-changing horticultural display offering something new every week.

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The building is thoughtfully woven into the campus with pedestrian walkways creating a welcoming approach while an entry road framed by an irregular allée of Alders and an understory of evergreen yews create a relaxed sense of arrival. A gracious patio embraced by the primary wings of the school cascades from the building plinth towards the pond. Granite paving slabs echo the rhythm of this movement into the lawn forming a visual gradient from site to structure.

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Ryan Center for Musical Arts

In collaboration with Goettsch Partners, Hoerr Schaudt designed a new Arts Green for Northwestern University’s Ryan Center for Musical Arts. The 6.5-acre project replaces the former Arts Circle on the Evanston campus, and was designed to form a new quadrangle that frames the iconic views along the lakefront toward the Chicago skyline. The site and landscape design for the Ryan Center was focused on the idea of providing a collaborative outdoor space for students; the new space is surrounded by the musical arts program, dance, museum of art, and Pick-Staiger concert hall. The spacious axial lawn serves as a flexible performance area that can host a wide array of outdoor activities.

The building occupies a key position in the lakefront’s recreation corridor and maintaining and enhancing these links was a key component of the design. The quadrangle connects directly to the beach on Lake Michigan, while a wide promenade for running and biking occupies the building’s eastern edge.

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Through these interventions, a naturalistic landscape design now unifies Northwestern’s lakeshore campus, consistency extending to the Ryan Center for Musical Arts, the Sailing Center, and the Segal Visitors Center.