Stone Center Entrance Renovation
Wellesley College is a private liberal arts institution for women, boasting a stunning and diverse 500-acre campus with open meadows, wooded hills, and a private lake, all of which support the founders’ ideals that women should learn in the midst of beauty. Dating to 1870 and given its current form by the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead Jr. in 1902, the hilly campus and its many historic buildings present multiple challenges to accessibility. The college’s Office of Planning, Design, and Construction has partnered with KMA since 2017 in an ongoing effort to address these challenges.
The historic Stone Center—which houses the college’s counseling service—is a former Tudor-style residence that features a large, covered entrance porch with exterior wood stairs. KMA’s team redesigned the entrance so the existing porch was extended with new stairs, creating space for a gently sloping concrete walkway that approaches from the building’s accessible parking area. Integrating it with strategic landscaping improved the overall aesthetic and makes the walkway blend seamlessly into the campus grounds.
