Celebrating history, welcoming all — a gateway of moments.
Athletic Fields
Gateway Landscape
Springfield, PA
One of our earliest projects, this small gateway landscape gave us the opportunity to explore how design can make everyday experiences richer. Studio Edition was tasked with creating a gateway where students pass daily on their way to and from sports fields. The bonus? Using stones from a former school building — keystones, datestones, and pieces from a demolished entrance arch — weaving history into the everyday.
Design Process
Following our initial site visit with the client group and masonry contractor, we began by mapping circulation patterns across the site — documenting points of entry, pauses, and key sightlines — to establish the spatial extent of the proposed gateway. This analysis helped frame the project not only as a physical threshold but also as a moment within the larger sequence of movement between campus and sports fields.
From this foundation, we explored three thematic frameworks, each developed through a series of design iterations. The approach that ultimately advanced centered on an organic, relaxed curve, gently tilted to invite and orient visitors, then divided into a larger and smaller arc. This configuration creates a soft threshold condition: one that frames passage, acknowledges history, and reinforces continuity of movement.
In traversing the gateway, each visitor encounters a subtle spatial cue — an invitation to register material memory, texture, and place within the flow of everyday routines.
Not every sketch is realized, but every step informs the outcome — a quiet motto we carry through our work at Studio Edition.
As the design evolved, the wall’s geometry was adjusted for constructability — a reminder that flexibility is part of the process. We’re especially grateful to our masonry contractor, who carefully mixed new and reclaimed stones to honor the spirit of the design.
The gateway becomes more than a passage.
It celebrates memory, supports movement, and offers a gentle pause in daily routines. Through reclaimed stones and soft, inviting curves, an ordinary route is transformed into something quietly extraordinary — alive with history and attentive to everyday activities.
