In Class: Space Shaper
“The Arboretum could become a real destination for visitors coming from all over the state,” says professor Mary Pat McGuire. (Image by Fred Zwicky) Landscape architects are best known for designing parks, gardens, waterfronts, and other public spaces. But we also alter and retrofit landscapes and urban sites to increase public spaces and adapt for climate change.
I’ve done a lot of work with engineers and geologists in Chicago on stormwater and urban flooding problems. Our work has led to major investments in green infrastructure in urban communities. My current research focuses on how to remove the vast seas of outdated asphalt paving in cities. The work is like landscape design but in reverse.
I teach both undergraduate and graduate students in landscape architecture. A big part of my pedagogy is site and field study—watching a place change over time and seeing how people use it throughout the day.
Last fall, my first-year graduate design studio centered on the Illinois Arboretum, engaging Japan House, the Orchard Downs community, and the site of the new Doris Kelley Christopher Extension Center [DKCEC], which is going to be a large-footprint building with all kinds of facilities, including conference rooms, workshops, and a demonstration kitchen.
The Arboretum is intriguing, including its history of tree and plant research. But the site needs more coherence. People who arrive there don’t necessarily know how to navigate the grounds. There are lots of forest tracks that are inviting, but hard to follow.
My students proposed some amazing projects for new paths and gathering spaces. One student designed a boardwalk to take visitors on a tree walk through the Arboretum’s historic nut grove. Another student created plans for a large garden that showcases the five types of prairie ecosystems in Illinois.
A very different Arboretum could emerge over the next two decades. The master plan for the campus landscape envisions a whole eco-corridor that will attract people to wander from the Red Oak Rain Garden near Allen Hall through Illini Grove and into the Arboretum—and even to the fields and forests beyond.
The Arboretum could become a destination for visitors coming from all over the state to attend Extension center programs. And also a special place for students who are seeking respite beyond the campus core.
Edited and condensed from an interview conducted on Dec. 3, 2025
Editor’s note: DKCEC will open in 2027.
