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Discovery Park District Master Plan
![Rendering of a master plan for Browning Investments, Purdue Research Foundation, and Purdue University’s...](https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_Purdue-Discovery-Park_master-plan.jpg 2400w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_Purdue-Discovery-Park_master-plan-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_Purdue-Discovery-Park_master-plan-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_Purdue-Discovery-Park_master-plan-170x128.jpg 170w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_Purdue-Discovery-Park_master-plan-80x60.jpg 80w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_Purdue-Discovery-Park_master-plan-400x300.jpg 400w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_Purdue-Discovery-Park_master-plan-600x450.jpg 600w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_Purdue-Discovery-Park_master-plan-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_Purdue-Discovery-Park_master-plan-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_Purdue-Discovery-Park_master-plan-1600x1200.jpg 1600w)
A large land area west of campus presents a major opportunity for Purdue University, the city of West Lafayette, and the greater Lafayette region to create a unique district that supports the university’s mission, expands the area’s knowledge-based economy, and enhances the quality of life in West Lafayette. The goals of the master plan include leveraging proximity to the university, encouraging creative interactions, and accommodating a wide range of activities. After leading multiple design charettes and open forms, the project team explored countless design alternatives and arrived at a final framework that balances the influences of site constraints, development goals, stakeholder aspirations, resource efficiency, market conditions, and best planning and design practices.
![Exploding axon demonstrating the ecological analysis of tree cover, watersheds, soil types, and...](https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Exploding-Axon.jpg 2250w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Exploding-Axon-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Exploding-Axon-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Exploding-Axon-170x113.jpg 170w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Exploding-Axon-80x53.jpg 80w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Exploding-Axon-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Exploding-Axon-600x400.jpg 600w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Exploding-Axon-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Exploding-Axon-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Exploding-Axon-1600x1067.jpg 1600w)
Landscape Architecture and Sustainability
The design team was presented with the challenge of creating a district as dynamic and multifunctional as the client’s vision on an expansive site. After analyzing the ecological assets and land use adjacencies, the design team chose a variety of open space typologies and urban forms to make a transition from the rural land to the campus landscape to the east of the site. The plan is broken into six neighborhoods to cater to a diverse group of users, and to create a stronger sense of placemaking throughout the district. The street network and open space network knits the neighborhoods together through a consistent landscape vernacular. Designers used soil types, tree health, and watershed analysis to place development in the least ecologically valuable land. Solar potential was continuously studied throughout the design process to ensure the viability of renewable energy. Land conservation for recreation, provisioning, and agricultural research became major drivers for density.
![Rendering of a low-density connector street for Browning Investments, Purdue Research Foundation,...](https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-170x96.jpg 170w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-80x45.jpg 80w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-600x337.jpg 600w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-1600x900.jpg 1600w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_streetscape-low-density-2400x1350.jpg 2400w)
![Open space network plan for Browning Investments, Purdue Research Foundation, and Purdue University’s...](https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Labeled-master-plan.jpg 1941w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Labeled-master-plan-1536x1187.jpg 1536w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Labeled-master-plan-170x131.jpg 170w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Labeled-master-plan-80x62.jpg 80w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Labeled-master-plan-400x309.jpg 400w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Labeled-master-plan-600x464.jpg 600w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Labeled-master-plan-800x618.jpg 800w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Labeled-master-plan-1200x927.jpg 1200w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Labeled-master-plan-1600x1236.jpg 1600w)
![Rendering of an iconic boulevard ends at an urban central park for Browning Investments, Purdue...](https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-170x96.jpg 170w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-80x45.jpg 80w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-600x337.jpg 600w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-1600x900.jpg 1600w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_main-boulevard-2400x1350.jpg 2400w)
![Rendering of a civic square for Browning Investments, Purdue Research Foundation, and Purdue University’s...](https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-170x96.jpg 170w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-80x45.jpg 80w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-600x337.jpg 600w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-1600x900.jpg 1600w, https://ayerssaintgross.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Purdue-Discovery-Park_Streetscape-high-density-2400x1350.jpg 2400w)