Landscape architecture students create vision for future of downtown Muncie

Throughout the past two months, landscape architecture students dedicated their time to making revitalization plans along Main Street between Madison and Walnut streets in downtown Muncie.

As part of Ball State's College of Architecture and Planning, 40 fifth-year students, led by landscape architecture professors German Cruz, Malcolm Cairns and Simon Bussiere, participated in the renovation.

Cruz said it takes effort and commitment to do what his students do.

"I believe in the power of design to change the environment," Cruz said.

Cruz said downtown Muncie was the chosen focus for the project because it was an area that could use upgrading.

"It needs a fresher look and more energy," he said.

Landscape architecture major Andrea Borkowski said the class began the project by venturing downtown to speak with business owners and other various people from the area.

After gathering ideas and inspiration, the 40 students came up with their individual solutions on making Main Street into a corridor area, a place where people really want to spend their time.

"As an overall idea, the goal of the project was to redevelop Main Street to become a street for the arts to reestablish Muncie," Borkowski said.

Derrek Fields tried to do something different with his plan.

"My design was to turn Main Street into a naked street," he said.

By "naked," Fields designed Main Street with no curbs or sidewalks, rather creating a single surface that would allow pedestrians and vehicles to coexist. Ownership would be given to the pedestrians, he said.

Out of all the projects Fields has completed during his five years at Ball State, he said this one has motivated him to strive for challenges.

"I think using our creativeness in a realistic setting is encouraging," he said.

Ball State is home to one of the top-10 landscape architecture schools in the country, ranking alongside Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Cornell. If CAP were a sports team, Cruz said it would be undefeated.

"People know who we are," Cruz said.

Although not all of the students' ideas were feasible, they were all exciting, Cruz said. It's good to get people thinking freshly about Muncie.

When it comes to the ideas being implemented, Cruz said the overall goal was to offer guidance to the community.

Borkowski said she hopes the community recognizes the students' ideas and gets thinking about revitalizing downtown.

Fields said the students have presented their designs to design professionals, landscape architecture alumni from Indianapolis, various other professors and Marta Moody, executive director of the Delaware County Muncie Metro Planning Commission.

Moody encouraged the students to showcase their designs to the Muncie community at the First Thursday Gallery Walk, held the first Thursday of every month in downtown Muncie. Fields said his class is working on making this happen.

The 40 projects are currently on display and can be viewed on the second floor of the Architecture Building until Friday.

Everything begins with design, Cruz said, and the work his students have done has the ability to make an impact on the downtown Muncie community.


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