Columbia, Maryland (April 8, 2008)-Nemetschek North America congratulates Dirtworks, PC, for several awards the firm recently won for the Science Center Courtyard and Outdoor Learning Environment at Keene State College. The New York City-based landscape architecture firm was awarded a 2008 Design Citation Award from the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and a 2007 Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)-New York Chapter.

The Keene State College Science Center Courtyard, the heart of the new Science Center, demonstrates the successful contribution landscape architecture can make-in teaching and learning, promoting social connectedness, supporting community, and providing natural habitats. Enclosed on four sides by a dynamic, three-story brick and glass building, the courtyard is aesthetically pleasing, functional, and responsive to the college's commitment to service learning. Nature is more accessible, more exciting, and real to both students and community members as they enjoy the serendipity of discovery in this
intellectually engaging, sensory-rich garden.

"A living laboratory with skillful adaptation of geological principles and use of materials to elevate awareness of surroundings, place of community, and the natural world," commented the AASA awards jury, which consisted of the AASA and its co-partners, the AIA and the Council of Education Facility Planners International.

The project also won the 2007 Honor Award for Excellence in Landscape Architecture from the Society of College and University Planning (SCUP) and the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education Excellence.

Read more about how the firm used VectorWorks in this project in the case study "Dirtworks, PC, Designs a Living Classroom with the Help of VectorWorks Landmark" at download.nemetschek.net/news/CS_Land_Dirtworks.pdf

Nemetschek North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Nemetschek Group. A global leader in design technologies, Nemetschek North America has been developing CAD software for the AEC, entertainment, landscape design, and manufacturing fields since 1985. VectorWorks Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Machine Design, Fundamentals, and
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