Canisius College

Buffalo, NY

Conducted a study to address the landscape elements and make recommendations for exterior site improvements on the campus.
The goals of the Master Plan were to strengthen the image and identity of the campus, improve campus landscaping, improve landscape maintenance practices, and sustainability initiatives.
Master Plan included a campus assessment to evaluate areas of weakness, identify opportunities, and designate priority zones.
Deliverables included a final report document outlining campus background, existing conditions, recommendations, planting palette, and maintenance calendar and best practices.

AOLA was the prime designer for the project which involved the replacement of a 122,500 s.f. Astroturf multipurpose field that includes soccer, lacrosse, baseball and softball field overlays with an infill synthetic turf system.
Design included correcting field grading and drainage issues, improving baseball and softball dugout areas and a new bullpen area. The new infill turf complex includes dirt cutouts for pitcher’s mound and home plate areas on the baseball and softball fields, as well as several scoreboards for various sporting events.
Provided design services throughout construction including weekly job meetings to maintain the aggressive 12 week construction schedule.
Conducted a forensic study of the field to evaluate the existing drainage performance and planarity for recommendations during design development. This information was used to accurately determine the extent of renovation work.
Conducted vendor interviews with several turf manufacturers to evaluate and select the most suitable product for the College’s needs.
The Owner selected the A-turf Premier RX-XP Fiber, 45 ounce synthetic turf system which best accommodates the variety of Division 1A sports played on the multipurpose facility.
A post bid interview and evaluation was conducted with the prospective contractors before final selection was made by the Owner for award.
The existing turf carpet was salvaged and recycled, rather than taken to a landfill.