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The Boston University Booth Theater plaza demonstrates a dynamic collaboration between landscape architects Mikyoung Kim Design and fabricators Landscape Forms

The Booth Theater has brought design and production students back to the main Boston University campus along Commonwealth Avenue; previously students were located over two miles away. The new building, stepped landscape, and plaza celebrate performance and gathering, becoming what BU President Robert A. Brown describes as "the centerpiece for the role that the students and faculty of the School of Theatre play in infusing the arts into our campus."

Mikyoung Kim Design (MYKD) designed the Booth Arts Plaza and landscape connecting the theatre to Commonwealth Avenue to be a welcome space for passersby and an exterior stage for performances or installations. The theatre is set back from the street, leaving room for a 9,500-square-foot plaza and a gathering space along Commonwealth Avenue. "The plaza, reflected in the façade of the building, was designed to be open and flexible, acting as a stage for everyday life or seasonal outdoor performance and events," says MYKD associate Samantha Partington.

Market Specialist Mark Haase, of Landscape Forms Custom Studio 431, says "Working with Mikyoung Kim Design from their initial concept and basic renderings all the way to installation was fun and challenging. Orienting the individual slats onsite was an intricate process," explains Haase. "It was great to see a beautiful design become reality." Partington adds, "Studio 431’s experience and knowledge of materials allowed the design team to prefabricate benches and planters as units to achieve a cohesive design that would have otherwise been a difficult coordination effort involving multiple trades."

MYKD worked with Landscape Forms' Studio 431 to design and manufacture custom benches and planters on the plaza and in the area that connects the sidewalk to the theatre. The benches and planters were designed to create a stepped amphitheater that mitigated the three-foot grade difference from the sidewalk to the theatre. The triangular-shaped benches and planters are constructed of ipe wood slats inset into powder-coated carbon steel. The triangular shape of the benches and planters unify the architecture and the landscape and echo the façade panels that wrap the theater building. Students and pedestrians passing by seem to appreciate and enjoy the new space as well.

ABOUT LANDSCAPE FORMS

Landscape architect John Chipman Sr. loved the great outdoors and was passionate about design. Fifty years ago he brought these passions together and founded Landscape Forms, a company with a purpose to create beautifully designed furniture for outdoor spaces. John and his landscape architect friends were the first product designers and his landscaping construction workers the first craftsmen. It was a company founded on design and people, and that legacy continues today.

Landscape Forms is the industry leader in integrated solutions of high-design site furniture, advanced LED lighting, structure, and custom environments. For more than 50 years we have developed and created solutions that help designers and other clients achieve beautiful, functional landscapes that enhance the experience of outdoor space. Our secret is simple. Design, Culture and Craft drive everything we do.

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