Master Plans

Yale University, Science Hill Landscape and Open Space Development Plan

Location: New Haven, CT

Client: Olin Partnership

As a part of their effort to double the amount of science facility space over the next 20 years, Yale decided to improve Science Hill, a 36-acre site located to the north of Yale’s main campus, to ensure that the university remained at the forefront of science and technology. The Science Hill Landscape and Open Space Development Plan provides the University with the framework for landscape, open space, infrastructure, and stormwater management designs to support the planned development.

Nitsch Engineering provided sustainable stormwater management consulting for this master plan. The site’s 80-foot grade presented a challenge, but we recommended sustainable and creative stormwater management solutions that could be implemented with future development projects at Science Hill, including stormwater harvesting using solar pumps, bioretention for water quality treatment, and the re-creation of wetlands. We are now working on three projects in the Science Hill area (Kroon Hall, Biology Building, and the Sterling and Kline Chemistry Laboratories) to create project-specific solutions that meet the goals of the Plan.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Landscape Frameworks Plan

Location: Cambridge, MA

Client: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nitsch Engineering assisted in the preparation of the Landscape Framework for the Campus Development Plan for the MIT Campus. The Framework Plan provides a model for the growth of the campus, as well as design and development guidelines for capital projects. The Plan also includes recommendations for major campus systems including pedestrian circulation, open space, wayfinding, and materials use. Nitsch Engineering evaluated development constraints regarding utilities and stormwater management, and prepared recommendations regarding these systems as they relate to the development of the ever-changing face of the MIT campus. We prepared utility constraints mapping, recommended stormwater Best Management Practices, and prepared guidelines for campus development projects to follow.

In order to continue their growth, Harvard University is developing the properties they own in Allston, directly across the river from their Cambridge campus. Planning has focused on matters such as transportation improvements, the distribution of open space, and the potential locations for various programs within the tract of land north of Western Avenue to the Charles River. Nitsch Engineering worked with the planner and other engineers to identify the area’s existing wet utility (water, sewer, and stormwater) infrastructure and to help develop strategies in which the infrastructure can be improved to accompany the proposed campus build-out. We conducted research on the existing utilities at the site and developed models for proposed changes to these systems to determine future capacities or reconfigurations. In addition, Nitsch Engineering worked with state and local agencies such as MWRA and BWSC to better understand their concerns about how the Allston initiative will impact their systems.

Brandeis University, Infrastructure Renewal
Location: Waltham, MA
Client: Brandeis University

Nitsch Engineering was selected by Brandeis University to take part in the debt-funded Infrastructure Renewal Project for their 160-acre campus. The project aimed to create an infrastructure system that would be responsive to issues of life safety, capacity, and efficiency, and would be reliable in terms of cost and ongoing systems operation; and to successfully migrate from a reactive program of addressing costly spending on emergency repairs to a proactive schedule of preventative maintenance. The Infrastructure Renewal Project was divided into seven elements, four of which Nitsch Engineering played a major role in: Steam Network Improvements, Electrical Network Improvements, Water Network Improvements, and Pedestrian Safety and Roadways.

Nitsch Engineering prepared a new campus topographic and utility plan that aids in the University's day-to-day and future planning analyses. We performed a topographic site survey of the 160-acre Campus, including establishing both horizontal and vertical control throughout the campus consistent with the City of Waltham’s GIS datum, obtaining horizontal and vertical control for aerial photogrammetry, compiling all University properties and all utilities within the limits of the survey, and performing conventional ground surveys of specific areas of the campus to enhance the photogrammetric mapping. In collaboration with the rest of the team, Nitsch Engineering helped Brandeis identify and prioritize their infrastructure needs. To date, we have fast-track designed three Steam Network and two Water Network construction projects that allowed the University to meet immediate goals with minimal disruption to the campus. We have also provided site design for a new switching station, designed pedestrian improvements throughout campus, and provided site design for a new Steam PRV station. We continue to provide civil engineering services on individual projects at the University.