UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Paul Daniel Marriott, associate professor of landscape architecture at Penn State in the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School, was honored by the Centre County Historical Society on Jan. 21 as the recipient of the 2023 Education and Advocacy Award for his work facilitating community conversations about the future of the U.S. Route 322 corridor in the Penns-Brush Valley Rural Historical District.
Marriott was recognized for his efforts to assist Central Pennsylvania residents in advocating for themselves, their properties and their livelihoods in response to the ongoing proposal by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to construct a four-lane highway through the region.
Marriott used PennDOT’s proposed State College Area Connector Project as a case study for his LARCH 414: Advanced Design Studio course, which he initiated in fall 2022. The goal of the ongoing studio, according to Marriott, is to “empower the community to understand that they should be a strong voice in determining what the future roadway should look like, including its aesthetics and its relationship to the landscape, bike and pedestrian facilities, and the natural environment.”
“The Centre County Historical Society has been a stalwart leader and visionary force championing a 'Context Sensitive’ solution for the Route 322 corridor,” said Marriott. “For my students, they have instilled an appreciation for the impacts the highway project could have on the historic rural landscape and its communities.”
The design alternatives to the highway by the initial student cohort were published in a booklet titled “Rethinking 322: Strategies for the proposed State College Area Connector in Penns-Brush Valley.” The project is the outgrowth of a partnership between the Department of Landscape Architecture and the Hamer Center for Community Design, both in the Stuckeman School, in partnership with the Centre County Historical Society and Penn State Law, with assistance from the Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute at Penn State.