For Office of Facilities Planning, Yale University

The Yale University Office of Facilities engaged Heritage Landscapes, LLC to develop a study of Beatrix Farrand (1872-1959) professional works for the campus. While opinion affirmed Farrand’s campus influence on a few landscapes, the breadth or depth of her contributions were unknown. Research and field observations revealed evidence of Farrand’s campus design and implementation services from 1920 to 1945. Findings confirmed 24 documented and 10 unconfirmed Farrand landscapes on the Yale campus grouped according to category and recommendations as:

• Legible- 7 Rehabilitate the Farrand CDFs
• Remnant- 10 Potentially rehabilitate Farrand CDFs, that contain traces    
• Overwritten- 7 Farrand CDFs replaced, use evidence to guide future change
• Unconfirmed – 10 pursue more documentation to confirm Farrand influence

The Farrand Cultural Landscapes Study uncovered widespread Farrand impact to create a common campus vocabulary of landscape character-defining features. The Farrand Yale landscape displayed cohesion, unity, and spatial and visual interconnection that the current landscape lacks. Heritage Landscapes recommended a multi-pronged strategy to incrementally recapture Farrand’s landscape character campus-wide. Early action directions include: test vine supports, train a group of shrubs and trees against walls and in moats; reestablish a campus nursery; update campus plan to include Farrand findings, and prepare new project guidance for consultants and new landscape management guidance for staff aligned to Farrand landscape character.

WORKS:
Farrand Cultural Landscapes Study, New landscape project and management guidelines, 2019

Heritage Landscapes LLC, Judith Tankard, Historianfor Farrand university context, Matthew Wright, Yale Research Assistant

“Surely the training of the eye to daily settings both beautiful and fit is as large a part of education as is the regular academic routine.” Beatrix Farrand, 1925, “Landscape Gardening at Yale”