The Kraus Campo was conceived by Mel Bochner and Landscape Architect Michael Van Valkenburgh as a single integrated work combining art and landscape design.  The design for the space, inspired by the Greek agora, an open marketplace where teachers of different philosophies held classes side by side, offers a meeting place symbolic of Carnegie Mellon’s multidisciplinary philosophy.  The concept behind the paths was to choreograph the experience of a long walk in a small space.  The meandering paths rise and fall as they curve between undulating mounds and colorful plant materials, heightening one’s awareness of the constantly changing orientation.  Curves originate from a central generating form, covered with numbers, inspired by black and white Roman mosaic floors.  Inscribed in tile on the back wall is a quotation, transcribed word-for-word in reverse order, an old and simple form of encryption which critiques the idea of the “elevated sentiments” engraved on institutional facades.