Landscapes revisited: the campus of York University

This study describes the growth of York University's distinctive campus from its origins in the 1960's to the present day, and offers both a history of the making of a landscape and an assessment of the results. Sources include design documents, correspondence and interviews, and personal observation. The viewpoint is that of a designer‐critic; the campus is evaluated in terms of the qualities and experiences it offers through its design and the way this has been implemented. The main conclusion is that despite some worrying aspects the campus represents a remarkable achievement and the landscape deserves its reputation as one of the best of its kind. The evaluation exercise itself serves to demonstrate an approach to the making of complex judgements of landscape quality.