Caflisch Hall: A Rain Garden Emerging from the Rubble

Henry, Ian

Caflisch Hall: A Rain Garden Emerging from the Rubble

Author(s)

Henry, Ian

Date Issued

May 2, 2024

Abstract

Allegheny College is a small liberal arts college located in Meadville, Pennsylvania, demolished Caflisch Hall over the summer of 2023, and what remains is an empty “green space”. This project looked at the potential for a rain garden, a form of green infrastructure, which are strategically placed in depressions that are designed to "take all, or as much as possible, of the excess rainwater run-off from a house or other building and its associated landscape”. Utilizing GIS and drone imagery, analysis based on factors such as slope, distance from trees, and distance to nearest downspouts and building foundations. Slope values of 13% with a majority of the slope at 25% or greater were found, which is far too steep to create an effective rain garden. Every other variable met the criteria or was not applicable at this location, besides noting the tree located on the eastern portion of the property. With the future use of the property currently being uncertain, with possibilities of additional impervious surfaces being added to campus, the implementation and construction of a rain garden would be recommended, after meeting the appropriate slope criteria.

Major

Environmental Science and Sustainability

First Reader(s)

Shaffer, Chris