An important and early part of the community college system in Massachusetts, Cape Cod Community College is a 116-acre campus on a sandy plateau in West Barnstable. Organized around a campus quadrangle that has enjoyed little disruption of the now mature oak grove there, the site slopes steeply away from the quad to the peripheral ring road and parking lots. Accessibility has always been a challenge in terms of the topography and the architectural strategies of the early 70s campus, which posed a particular obstacle to the diverse student population, many who identify with physical and other challenging differences.

 

LEMON BROOKE was tasked with creating a more accessible and iconic experience for the popular commuter college, that would better link the student parking at the base of the hill with both the theater and the library at the top. With careful grading and attention to the site’s drainage patterns, a radically new and more accessible plan was created that eliminates the need for extraneous ramps and stairs and connects peripheral building entrances to the main pedestrian route.

 

This new pedestrian spine through the campus celebrates the unique and thriving plant communities of the Cape and capitalizes on the sloped site by channeling storm water into above grade features, that will bring a more modern aesthetic to the campus as a whole. The improved accessibility will be a welcome feature for the many students, faculty and regional visitors that the Community College serves, that also sets the design standards for future projects on the campus.

 

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CREDITS:

CLIENT/DEVELOPER:            Cape Cod Community College/DCAMM

CAMPUS ARCHITECT:           Jones Architecture

YEAR COMPLETED:               2019