The team at Frost Engineering & Consulting partnered with Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects to design the World Peace Plaza at the University of Notre Dame. Inspired by the Rosary, the plaza design features five interconnected circular spaces that sit at the edge of St. Mary’s Lake. The focal feature is a granite infinity fountain, inscribed with a prayer for peace in multiple languages. Adjacent to the fountain is a circular boardwalk which extends over the water into the lake.

The team at Frost designed the helical piers to support the infinity fountain, utilizing fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebar in the mat foundation to underpin the substantial weight of the granite. Frost provided specifications for the underground storage containing the fountain’s mechanical equipment. Helical piers were also designed by Frost to support the concentric circle concrete seating walls to protect nearby tree root systems.

Frost engineers carried out the structural design and detailing for the pultruded FRP boardwalk. Frost designed the helical pier foundations and above-water structural framing as to support the wood and cable finishings of the boardwalk. The design of the plaza was executed with the intention of the project having a 100+ year life span within a corrosive environment.