VISIONSCAPES LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS INC. HAS BEEN HONOURED BY THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS (ASLA) WITH AN AWARD OF MERIT IN THE PLANNING AND ANALYSIS CATEGORY FOR THE MASTER PLANNING PROCESS UNDERTAKEN FOR COMMON GROUND, THE CINDY NORD CENTRE FOR RENEWAL, OBERLIN, OHIO, U.S.A.

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Common Ground required a Master Plan to be designed for their 20 acres of land. The Master Plan was to capture the essence of the spirit of the community who would be using the land, and the essence of the spirit of the land. This land was purchased a few years ago by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary for the purpose of having a place of retreat where people could reconnect with their spirit by reconnecting with the earth. Prior to this contract, members of the community formed a Board of Trustees to oversee this place of retreat called Common Ground. They had achieved funding for the purchase of the land and for the creation of a building for community meetings. It was now their intention to bring programming beyond the walls of the building and to involve the twenty acres fully, to realize the original vision. Use of the land was to be in keeping with the Mission of the organization. Community input for the Master Plan was essential.

ROLE OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND ROLE OF OWNER/CLIENT:

Common Ground was not interested in the traditional Master Planning Process. They engaged an organizational learning consultant to conduct a weekend long Open Space Technology meeting with the community including all stakeholder groups to determine what the community had passion for regarding the Master Plan. They engaged a landscape architect specializing in spiritual healing gardens to do the Master Plan, based on the community input and using the landscape architect's skills and passion for designing spiritual healing places.

SPECIAL FACTORS:

Based on the spiritual intent of connecting with the land, Common Ground was unique in the way the owner trusted using a process of community participation that goes beyond our profession's typical "consensus" participation techniques.

SIGNIFICANCE:

When the final master plan was unveiled and presented, the community was stunned to silence. Their creativity and imagination were woven deeply into the very fabric of the concept and master plan. As a group, the community experience had been that designers go away and come back with a few of their ideas. Their perception now was different. Open Space Technology, a Large Group Intervention technique was used for the first time in conjunction with landscape architecture. This process is a different way for our profession to go beyond our beliefs and assumptions. The resultant master plan addressed analysis, functionalism, environmental responsibility and increased awareness of the value of our natural environment. Spirit was made manifest in a tangible, implementable way at Common Ground.