The Fernandez Center is the newest addition to Loyola University’s 80-acre Evergreen Campus and serves as a prominent, lively place for the student body and faculty. HCM landscape architects led the planning, site design and landscape architecture from the inception of the project.

The design program includes a flexible plaza, outdoor classroom, expanded streetscape, outdoor gathering spaces, service and loading area, and pedestrian connections between the academic quad, existing campus walkways, and the surrounding community. A sloped walkway, stairs and an integrated ramp guides pedestrians to the plaza level and orients them toward the building’s east entry. The main plaza connects to the quad and is a space for social events.

A specimen red maple punctuates the plaza and serves as a focal point. Centered on the historic Beatty Hall and depressed slightly below the plaza, an outdoor classroom features a chalkboard, planter walls, seat walls, and a crushed granite walking surface.
The project utilizes environmental site design strategies, most notably rainwater treatment and harvesting. A palette of native plants adapted to the regional climate attracts native bird and insect species. The Evergreen Campus, classified as a Level II arboretum, gained more than 50 trees, 440 shrubs, 670 perennials, and 3,500 groundcovers as a result of this project.

2023 Honor Award Winner, American Society of Landscape Architects, Maryland Chapter

2023 Merit Award Winner, American Society of Landscape Architects, Potomac Chapter