CCED Mission Statement:

Since 1976, the Landscape Architecture at Purdue University has provided hundreds of communities with design and planning support through the Center for Community & Environmental Design (CCED). Our vision is simple – we need to bring together the time, talent, and energy of our students and faculty with stakeholders seeking to create robust, vibrant places. We strive to protect the health of our environment, enhance the quality of life for residents, and build support for the types of open spaces, parks, trails, and community development projects that will make Indiana communities stronger and more economically competitive.

Community Partnerships

Training that includes real-world challenges and direct interaction with community “clients” in our undergraduate courses is essential for creating career-ready graduates. Projects are completed as course-based service learning projects, individual Capstone projects, and independent projects that engage students in faculty-led research.

Project Descriptions

If your community needs community or environmental design assistance, please contact us with your opportunity. For more information on the work performed by landscape architects visit:  https://www.asla.org/. We receive a large number of project requests each year and try to accommodate as many as possible. However, our ability is limited by projects meeting course learning objectives and student availability.

Director’s Message

As the director of the CCED, I seek to expand on this tradition by building strong partnerships with communities across the Midwest that engage Purdue students and faculty in developing planning and design solutions that address our landscape’s social and ecological issues. The profession of landscape architecture is broader than most people assume. As landscape architects, we strive to identify solutions to protect the landscape’s environmental benefits, build livable places that support a high quality of life, and contribute to collaborative efforts that address the most pressing threats facing our society. In addition, we provide design solutions grounded in research, regional analysis, and ecological design to model professional methods and techniques that better equip our staff for leadership roles within this expanding field.

Aaron Thompson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor | Landscape Architecture Program
Director, Center for Community & Environmental Design
Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture| College of Agriculture
Purdue University|625 Agricultural Mall Drive| HORT Room 223
Phone: 765.494.1324|E-mail: awthomps@purdue.edu

For more information about Purdue University’s accredited and nationally ranked Landscape Architecture program visit: https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/la/Pages/Proshttps://ag.purdue.edu/department/hla/academics/prospective-students-la.htmlpectiveStudents-LA.aspx