Being nominated as the principal landscape architect for the UWI St. Augustine South Campus project was overwhelming as it was exciting. Having quickly wrapped my head around it and after a few site visits to familiarize myself with the site and the surrounding communities I set out to develop a landscape which will not only enhance campus life, but provides inviting spaces for people to enjoy and connect with the outdoors.
The site is mostly undulating and the scale of the constructed areas of the project is relatively small when compared to the overall site leaving much of the landscape as undisturbed. There are large specie trees or palms lining all road ways and walkways not only providing shade to the user on a hot day, but in some cases used to frame important views. While much of the ornamental landscaping occurs adjacent to and between buildings and car parks it was important to have a seamless transition between the natural undisturbed landscape and the more ornamental landscape to ensure that the balance of the sites landscape was in harmony with each other.
The site features two retention ponds which were identified early on in the project as valuable assets and have been transformed into an ecological hot spot within the site. The ponds have been populated with native and adaptive plant species which in turn have attracted insects, reptiles and amphibians, fish and a wide assortment of bids which have been observed to be feeding, roosting and nesting within the pond environment.
Design Landscape Architects
Allan Darwent
+1868-622-2923
8 Francis Road, Maraval, Trinidad