UMass Boston

Interested in the Sustainability Features and Green Infrastructure Design in the New Quad? 

By: Amber Mulvey '26, Office of Campus Planning & Sustainability PACE Assistant

April 2024

Over the past couple of years, and as a culmination of the 2018 Master Plan, the campus has been going through a thorough and extensive renovation phase to stabilize the substructure and demolition of the previous Science building. Officially called the Substructure Demolition and Quadrangle Development project, SDQD for short. The quadrangle development involved the Architecture firm NBBJ Design, the Landscape Architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Structural Engineering firm ARUP, and Civil Engineering firm Nitsch to create a beautiful, vibrant, connected, and sustainable campus. Included in this plan are green infrastructures and numerous sustainable features.

The star of the SDQD project is the construction of the quadrangle, a central hub of spaces designed to encourage outdoor activities, a variety of native plant types for learning, and climate-resilient design. Through the use of green infrastructure features such as bioswales, the quad is effectively designed to ensure the campus has proper collection and filtration of water from rainfall. This also reduces the runoff of water from paved surfaces to prevent any contaminants or pollutants from being washed away into nearby bodies of water. UMass Boston’s stormwater management program (SWMP) addresses these concerns throughout the campus at many different locations by building filtration basins.

Supporting stormwater management, enhancing the campus’s connections with native vegetation, and reducing temperatures resulting from our urban location are critical for a sustainable future.

Sustainable, Climate Resilient, and Green Infrastructure Features:

• • • Increased vegetated areas on campus will reduce heat and flooding.
    • Use of recyclable and locally available materials.
    • Green spaces and plantings provide respite and active recreation and helps promote wellness practices on campus.
    • Bioswales in the quad will filter out contaminants from stormwater through absorption into the ground. Currently, these ponds contain standing water, but as the weather gets warmer, look out for new plant growth in these bioswales!
    • Approximately 121,000 cubic yards of debris from the demolition of old structures has been reused as fill in the quad instead of being trucked to landfills.
    • An organic landscaping management program prevents the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers. This ensures that the animals and plants on campus and in the harbor are not suffering from any harm because of these chemicals.
    • Weather-controlled drip systems and spray irrigation systems for planting beds and turf grass are efficient ways to minimize water use and will prevent the double watering of landscapes that can occur when it rains.

Native Plants of the Quad

 The quad's vegetation will consist of native and adapted plant species. These species require less water from irrigation and have a greater capacity to survive our costal location and filter stormwater. A range of native and adapted plant species will be planted in the quad, including deciduous trees, evergreen trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, and sedges. Keeping in mind the climate and weather conditions on Columbia Point, some of these species were specifically chosen because of their adaptability to seaside areas.

One example of many beautiful native plants species in our new Quad : Amelanchier Laevis

Amelanchier Laevis, more commonly known as Allegheny Serviceberry, is a deciduous tree native to Eastern North America. Many of them are planted in the islands along the plaza.

Features:

• • • Typically grows around 15-25 feet tall as a multi-trunked shrub or tree.

    • Green leaves, white flowers, and black, purple, and red fruits.

    • Blooms in March, April, May, and June. Keep on the lookout for upcoming growth!

    • Native Habitat: cool, rich woods, moist to drier thickets, and swamp margins/clearings.

    • Beautiful subtle sweet fragrance during blooming.

The Future of Green Infrastructure at UMass Boston

The recent campus master plan calls for any future development to incorporate these climate-resilient and sustainable features further. This includes using the  surface parking lot constructed in the quad as a  future development sites. As the new plants grow, the quad’s ecosystem will become richer and more vibrant. You can see more examples of green infrastructure on the City of Boston’s website.

As spring blooms, look out for new plants growing and opportunities to take a sustainability tour of the quad during Earth Month!

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