Located in Lawrence, the new campus for Esperanza Academy was designed to support the school’s mission of creating a joyful, community-centered educational environment for girls while transforming a highly constrained urban waterfront site into an immersive landscape experience. Working in close collaboration with Flansburgh Architects, the landscape design carefully integrated grading, circulation, and outdoor learning opportunities into the architectural vision for the campus.
Due to significant compensatory flood storage requirements across the property, the project required an innovative grading strategy that carefully balanced technical site constraints with the desired student experience. Portions of the site were intentionally lowered to align contour-to-contour grading relationships and create a planted “moat” condition surrounding the building. This approach allowed the primary entrance sequence to occur across an elevated bridge, positioning students approximately 3.5 feet above grade and closer to the surrounding tree canopy. Layered planting below the bridge reinforces the experience of students entering a “treehouse” embedded within the landscape.
The building dramatically cantilevers over the rear of the site, creating a sheltered outdoor play environment beneath the structure. Accessible ramps transition from the rear entrance down into this play area, weaving circulation and recreation seamlessly into the architecture and topography. The landscape design transforms complex grading and floodplain requirements into defining experiential features that support exploration, movement, and a strong connection between students and the natural environment.
