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Next to the stately copper dome of Arizona's Capitol lies a plaza filled with pretty much nothing.

A state representative spearheading an effort to bring a vibrant change to the concrete and grass area between the Capitol and Senate and House buildings has enlisted UA landscape architecture students to design a military memorial for the space.

The graduate students, who turned the task into their semester project last term, took their orders and ran, turning out seven vastly different designs, all incorporating a memorial to Arizona's military veterans and those currently serving. Many also incorporated Arizona's cultural and natural history, with elements of copper, representations of the Grand Canyon and nods to the state's agricultural, mining, ranching and American Indian histories.

"What we're try to accomplish is twofold," said Rep. Jerry Weiers. "One, beautify our state Capitol. Our plaza out front is just terrible-looking. There's nothing at all in this area that gives anybody a sense of pride. At the same time, with the memorial end of it, honor our active duty soldiers and Arizona veterans."

After Weiers' idea of an independent military memorial, with all funds donated, became law last year, he started soliciting ideas for the design, turning to University of Arizona students in architecture and engineering.

Weiers, R-Glendale, said one of the most nervous times in his life was pitching the idea in front of a bunch of UA deans, but the proposal was well-received and routed to the landscape architecture students, who started working almost immediately.

"The last thing I told them before they left is, 'Please, don't limit yourselves,' " he said. "I couldn't be any prouder of what the students accomplished. I'm so amazed at their abilities. There's something I like about every one of the designs."

Chris Rose said the emptiness of the space and the incongruity between the hulking Senate and House buildings and historic Capitol were the first challenges to overcome.

"We all had a lot of thoughts, primarily that it's just not friendly. It's not a place where people can be and enjoy it," he said. "(The buildings) don't relate well with one another. The challenge of the plaza was to unify the space and give it meaning for all three buildings."

The plaza had to convey a sense of respect and solemnity with the memorials, as well as having the versatility of space for hosting public events, he said. Rose's design included a tribute to Arizona's agricultural, mining and ranching history, representations for all of the state's American Indian nations and vegetation from Arizona's range of climates.

Christy Fisher's focused on the center of the plaza, with a granite inlay turning from an abstraction of the Grand Canyon into an abstraction of the sun, complete with a timeline.

"It's important to create spaces for visitors as well as everyday users," she said.

The students started by visiting the site for six to eight hours, taking photographs of the plaza and its surroundings, studying the space and brainstorming how to fulfill Weiers' requirements.

Most students aren't from Arizona, so they had to bone up on state history and the history of the Capitol complex. They used the Google Earth program to get aerial views and pored over historical photographs and architectural documents in preparing for the design phase, said Lauri Macmillan Johnson, an associate professor of landscape architecture who led the 12-student class.

"Ideally, this is more of a brainstorming tool so the public can get involved," she said. "This is a springboard for discussion, and these students did such an incredible job. It was a grueling assignment."

Johnson said the project is medium- to small-scale compared with typical assignments, but was far more complex than other projects. The students had to incorporate the history of the space as well as numerous different purposes, pay attention to security needs of the plaza and make the space significant for everyday users as well as visitors.

Design work typically costs 10 percent of the construction budget, and with plaza designs that could cost up to about $3 million for the more elaborate plans; the student work easily saved the state thousands of dollars, Johnson said.

Weiers said the next phase is a joint legislative council, which will review the conceptual designs and move forward with bids on the project and a final design. The project has already collected more than $20,000 in donations, and with designs in hand is likely to garner more interest, he said.

For more information on the project, contact Weiers' office at 602-926-5894 or jpweiers@azleg.gov