Landscaping work will begin around the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) this week.

The work includes the installation of planters and walkways and the planting of trees and shrubs.

The small trees that were uprooted last spring will be brought back to the site from their temporary locations around campus and the larger trees will be brought back from Aldershot Nurseries where they have been cared for since the site was excavated.

In addition to these returning trees, new plants will be introduced including evergreens, deciduous trees and flowering shrubs. The main courtyard between Mills Memorial Library and Titles Bookstore will be centred around four mature pin oak trees.

The east side of the building by the round glass wall will boast another cluster of trees that will create a “green view” from the fireside lounge within the building.

Along the east entrance to the centre, a line of locust trees will shade three stone chess tables and stools, donated to MUSC by Sheila Smith, the McMaster Association of Part-Time Students representative on the MUSC Board of Management.

George Stockton, of Moriyama & Teshima Architects, said that the
landscaping around MUSC will make it feel like an outdoor room. The landscaping will “extend the interior of the building out onto site.”

The outdoor courtyard between Titles Bookstore and Mills Memorial Library is designed to be a pleasant space to walk through from one part of campus to another and also a great space for all kinds of activities including outdoor fairs and rallies. Most of all, this space will be a great place to eat lunch or to hang out between classes or on a coffee break.

The landscaping work will change the fencing around the site for the next few weeks. This week, the area to the west of Mills Memorial Library will be closed off and the entrance to the library will change to the north door only (the entrance that faces Council Chambers). Access to the other entrance will be restored on Sept. 3.

The work along the north-east side of the building, by the curved wall, will begin mid-August and continue until the end of October.