D U WA M I S H PA L I M P S E S T : Exploring the Changing Natures of a River/Estuary/Waterway/Superfund Site

Jordan West Monez

DUWAMISH PALIMPSEST: Exploring the Changing Natures of a River/Estuary/Waterway/Superfund Site

Jordan West Monez

A thesissubmitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

Master of Landscape Architecture

University of Washington

2011

Program Authorized to Offer Degree:

Landscape Architecture

In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for amasters degree at the University of Washington, I agree that the Libraryshall make its copies freely available for inspection. I further agree thatextensive copying of this thesis is allowable only for scholarly purposes,consistent with fair use as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright Law. Anyother reproduction for any purposes or by any means shall not be allowedwithout my written permission.

Signature_____________________________________

Date________________________________________

University of Washington

Abstract

DUWAMISH PALIMPSEST: Exploring the Changing Natures of a River/Estuary/Waterway/Superfund Site

Jordan West Monez

Chair of the Supervisory Committee:

Associate Professor Jeff Hou

Department of Landscape Architecture

As Seattles only river, the heavily industrialized Duwamish holds layers of history and meaning, people

and culture, contamination and habitat. The Duwamish is simultaneously a river beginning high in the

Cascade Mountains, a straightened navigable waterway flowing into Elliot Bay, and a tidal estuary ruled

by the moon and the seasons. Due to heavy contamination present in the river that threatens humans

and wildlife, 441 acres of the the Lower Duwamish Waterway were named an USEPA Superfund Site

in 2001, and several Early Action Areas have been identified for cleanup. Duwamish Palimpsest looks

at the challenges through the lens of contemporary landscape theory of analysis, representation and

design in conjunction with identifying various ways that the river has been viewed, depicted, mapped,

and altered throughout its history. As a concluding project, I propose design interventions along the

Duwamish that project potential futures for this manufactured landscape.

Progressive site planning and design approaches are necessary to revitalize sites like the abandoned

industrial parcels around the Duwamish Waterway in a way that involves the various stakeholders.

These types of sites are known as manufactured, post-industrial, toxic, waste landscapes, and

terrain vague. The seemingly disparate natures found on the Duwamish are found in urbanized

areas throughout the world and, as we acknowledge the importance of cleaning up sites polluted by

heavy industry, we must collectively deal with the problem of these sites, and rectify their danger to

environmental and human health.

Toxic cleanup is an important aspect of improving local, regional, and global ecologies. Landscape

architects bring a unique viewpoint to the cleanup process, by thinking about the time-based potential

of sites over time and designing places that have relevance to the layers of history and potential

future uses of the site. Designers can act as activists, identifying issues, analysing, and reframing them

in ways that are proactive and address various scales. By interpreting the layers of landscape through

representation and experiential interventions, landscape architecture can affect how we look at Seattles

only river during this point in the cleanup process and shape the actions that are taken toward a better

future for the Duwamish River/Estuary/Waterway/Superfund site.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES

GLOSSARY

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

LITERATURE REVIEW

defining landscape architecture: scales, city, ecology

landscape urbanism: framework for creating the contemporary city

post-industrial practice: a call for transdisciplinary knowledge

experience of landscape: lenses of art + science, culture + nature

APPROACH AND METHODS

designing for a post-industrial future

experience of place

mapping as operation

palimpsest

landscape as cultural image

community participation

ecological and eco-revelatory design

designing for the future

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DUWAMISH PALIMPSEST

framing the site analysis and design process by means of nine themes

altering: the history of the duwamish river

flowing: ecology of the duwamish river

accumulating: buildup of contamination

shifting: changing natures

concealing and revealing: understanding the past

spanning: time and geography

living: regenerative design

dwelling: community impact

opening imagination

DESIGN FOR THE FUTURE

adding more layers: project objectives

finding the site: project scope

accumulating ideas: site analysis on the duwamish

site research: a palimpsest of images, data, maps, narratives

design at parcel scale: terminal 117/ palimpsest park

design challenges, limitations, and potentials for the future

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX

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An estuary demands gradients not walls, fluid occupancies not defined land uses, negotiated moments, not hard edges.

- Anuradha Mathur + Dilip da Cunha, SOAK: Mumbai in an Estuary

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map of King County and regional waterbodies, showing site location

photo of former Boeing Plant 2 factory from kayak

mixed media collage

mixed media collage

images from on or around the Duwamish River

multiple exposure photo of the Duwamish River on the water

scales, city, ecology: plants in the concrete

affecting change through visualization; Mississippi Floods diagram

scale in landscape architecture goes beyond site boundaries; Fresh Kills from air

landscape + urbanism: downtown Seattle from West Seattle looking across bay

the Highline, a linear elevated park in NYC, designed by Field Operations

Taking Measures Across the American Landscape collage of Colorado River

view from Boeing Public Access Area

four dimensional systems of flux: detail of cleanup timeline

a post-industrial site: Terminal 117 Early Action Area on the Duwamish River

one of the industrial structures at Gasworks juxtaposed with ground in mirror

Gasworks Park today, with original train trestle armature in foreground

photocollage of kite hill activity on a sunny, windy afternoon

Gasworks Park cut-and-fill diagram by landscape architects Rich Haag Associates

detail of Scape Studios rendering of the Oystertecture project

the Ford Rouge River Plant greenroof

birds eye view of the Ford Rouge River Plant

photo of Nordhavn in 2010 with traces of train tracks and port cranes visible

photo of Nordhavn in 2010 showing shipping industry environment

COBE Architects vision for Nordhavns future development

Nordholmene: six themes for redevelopment

COBE Architects analysis of the site for Copenhagen City

Duisberg-Nord Landscape Park from the Emscher River

a park in the City of Oberhausen with repurposed gasometer

map of major IBA Emscher Park projects and targeted areas

section of stormwater system at Houtan Park via a linear constructed wetland

boardwalk and phytoremediating plants at Houtan Park

birds eye view digital rendering of Houtan Park

perspective digital rendering of Houtan Park

hand drawn perspective of Houtan Park detail

phytoremediating and wetland plants line the pathways at Houtan Park

a re-imagining of the Seattle Waterfront by Field Operations

LIST OF FIGURESfigure description page

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diagram of the Central Waterfront project aim to re-orient Seattle to water

turboprop plane

hotsprings at Yellowstone National Park

mixed media image of Over the River artwork by Christo

birds eye view image from Growing Urbanism competition entry

digital perspective image from Growing Urbanism competition entry

Lorna Jordans Waterworks Garden

photograph of Robert Smithson sculpture Asphalt Rundown in Rome, Italy, 1969

drawing by Robert Smithson, Asphalt on Eroded Cliff 1969

Robert Smithsons proposed huge revolving disk scupture in copper mine

Robert Smithson sculpture, A NonSite Franklin, NJ 1968

The Living Barge, a temporary art installation on the Duwamish River

drawing of Robert Smithsons A Floating Island to Travel Around Manhattan Island

drawing of Robert Smithsons Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport Layout Plan

model of Robert Smithsons Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport Layout Plan

photo of 2011 demolition of the Boeing Plant 2 factory

unexpected sights, textures, and sounds await the explorer of a place

USGS Topographic Map; Seattle quadrangle in 1897, 1906 and 1943

Situationist map, 19 sections of Paris

aerial view of the Lower Duwamish River and surroundings

the first image of Earth from space, taken by the Apollo 17

aerial view showing only the Green/Duwamish Watershed

image series from Google Earth film, following the Duwamish

image series from Google Earth film, following the Duwamish

a 1944 depiction of the Mississippi Rivers meanders

detail of Raising Hollers screenprint

USGS map of Duwamish and surroundings

locations of important native sites

graffiti and vegetation layered on the South Park Bridge ramp

informative sign at Jack Block Park.

view from the park of the port operations

detail of informative sign at Jack Block Park

billboards showing the utopian future of Field Operations design

a portion of New York Citys Highline rendered

a portion of New York Citys Highline actual

post-industrial cleanup process, summarized for children

the post-industrial cleanup process: signs at AMD+ART park in Vindondale, PN

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Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition-led kayak trip down the Duwamish River

temporary barrier at a restoration site

Duwamish Valley Vision Map

Sketchup model of a portion of the Duwamish River

nine words that form framework for analysis of the Duwamish River

multimedia image of Duwamish Projects

1851 Land claims map

Kelly homestead on the Duwamish, 1850

topographical map of Seattle, 1909, showing old route of the Duwamish River

topographical map of Seattle, 1909, showing projected rerouting

sketch diagram sectional changes after the Duwamish River Improvement

multimedia image: flowing

view of mountains in fog in upper Green-Duwamish River Watershed

stream flowing into the Green River in upper Green-Duwamish River Watershed

water flowing over dam in upper Green-Duwamish River Watershed

water diversion in upper Green-Duwamish River Watershed

old growth forest in upper Green-Duwamish River Watershed

aerial view of Herrings House Park

view to river from Herrings House Park

view of mudflat at low tide at Herrings House Park

Tukwila Costco parking lot

Green River and Green River trail

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) release point on the Lower Duwamish

multimedia Image: accumulating

diagrammatic map from the Feasibility Study: sediment

diagrammatic map from the Feasibility Study: contamination

methods for managing contaminated sediments: removal

methods for managing contaminated sediments: containment

methods for managing contaminated sediments: enhanced natural recovery

methods for managing contaminated sediments: monitored natural recovery

multimedia Image: shifting

waves at Elliot Bay

airplanes moving through the air overhead

a hub for goods from all around the world

metal recycling on the river

Rising Tides Competition winner: Failure! Bring Your Boots

Rising Tides Competition winner: Folding Water: A Ventilated Levee

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multimedia Image: concealing

multimedia Image: revealing

Aerial view Boeing Plant 2, concealed during World War II with a 3/4 scale model

employee posing on roof of Boeing Plant 2 during WWII

multimedia image: spanning

ephemeral qualities and traces on the Duwamish: clouds

ephemeral qualities and traces on the Duwamish: ripples

ephemeral qualities and traces on the Duwamish: deposits on sand

ephemeral qualities and traces on the Duwamish: mudflat

multimedia image: living

remediation techniques: field mustard phytoremediation

remediation techniques: oyster mushroom mycoremediation

remediation techniques: dredging

remediation techniques: birch tree phytoremediation

diagram of phytoremediation by youarethecity

multimedia image: dwelling

a house on an adjacent street to Terminal 117 Early Action Area

a house on the Lower Duwamish, seen from the river

South Park Marina

diagram of the major stakeholders in the Duwamish Superfund cleanup

Muckleshoot fisherman checking nets in the Lower Duwamish Waterway

community engagement in the Duwamish River cleanup: shoreline restoration

community engagement in the Duwamish River cleanup: kayak tours

community engagement in the Duwamish River cleanup: upland restoration

community engagement in the Duwamish River cleanup: community meeting

community engagement in the Duwamish River cleanup: boat tour

community engagement in the Duwamish River cleanup: visioning session

community engagement in the Duwamish River cleanup: tribal performance

community engagement in the Duwamish River cleanup: public art

sketch: landscape + urbanism - future of the river

photomontage of ecology and industry

LDW in a statewide context

aerial photo, showing project scope

sketch: industry

sketch: habitat

aspects of the lower Duwamish

Lower Duwamish from the water: tribal fishing net and shoreline habitat

Lower Duwamish from the water: floating timber and barges

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Lower Duwamish from the water: 16th Ave S bridge

Lower Duwamish from the water: remnants of piers

Lower Duwamish from the water: metal recycling plant

Lower Duwamish from the water: marina

Lower Duwamish from the water: barge loading structure and tugboat

Lower Duwamish from the water: salmon fisherman and shipping containers

examples of current public access parks: Terminal 108 waterfront

examples of current public access parks: Terminal 108 amenities

examples of current public access parks: path to Boeing Public Access

examples of current public access parks: Boeing Public Access view

examples of current public access parks: path to Jack Block Park

examples of current public access parks: Jack Block Park view

examples of current public access parks: Herrings House path

examples of current public access parks: Herrings House habitat area

aerial view of the Green/Duwamish Watershed: multiple scales

map: CSO outfalls and basins

map: elevation and topography

map: geology and water

map: water and wetlands

map: transportation routes

map: buildings and street trees

map: seattle zoning

map: public lands and parks

masterplan for the LDW: phases exploded

masterplan for the LDW: plan view

nine themes: observations + goals

nine themes: methods + design

EPA Superfund and Recovery cleanup timeline

zooming in on a site: shifting scale

mid-scale diagram: flowing + dwelling

mid-scale diagram: revealing + spanning

mid-scale diagram: accumulating + altering

mid-scale diagram: concealing + living

site map with context photos

potential futures

aerial view of Boeing Plant 2 during WWII

parti plan overlayed on 2011 aerial

aerial from 5000 feet: Boeing Plant 2 during WWII

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Boeing Plant 2 in 2010

Boeing Plant 2 roof during WWII

Boeing Plant 2 front during WWII

Boeing Plant 2 roof during WWII

information on Terminal 117/ Malarkey asphalt Superfund cleanup

Terminal 117/ Malarkey asphalt Superfund cleanup site analysis photos

Terminal 117/ Malarkey asphalt Superfund cleanup site analysis photos

proposed Early Action Site Overview

GIS site analysis

history of Terminal 117 Parcel

site diagrams

site layout plan for Terminal 117/Palimpsest Park

plant palette

materials and site features

collage perspective of Palimpsest Park wetland area

diagrammatic section of Palimpsest Park wetland ponds

collage perspective of Palimpsest Park evergreen mutant grove

section of tidal steps

sample sketches of parcel and mid-scale site analysis and design ideas

working drawings for Terminal 117/Palimpsest Park site plan

context board for thesis studio midreview February 2011

abstract accepted for paper presentations

construction documentation for Terminal 117/Palimpsest Park

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figure description page

GLOSSARY

ACTIVIST Advocate of a cause or issue.

COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION AND LIABILITY ACT

1980 legislative act in the USA that established the Superfund program.

DUWAMISH RIVER Lower 12 miles of the Green River, which flows into Elliot Bay in Seattle, WA.

DUWAMISH RIVER CLEANUP COALITION/TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP (DRCC/TAG) Technical advisory group funded by the EPA and 501(c)3 non-profit organization, formed 2001.

ESTUARY The tidal mouth of a large river.

EARLY ACTION AREA (EAA) Areas of the Duwamish targeted for cleanup first because of high levels of hazardous waste.

FEASIBILITY STUDY (FS) Analysis of cleanup alternatives for the Duwamish Superfund, Draft Final version published 2010.

LANDSCAPE URBANISM A framework for practice that offers innovative perspectives on urban design and theory.

LOWER DUWAMISH WATERWAY (LDW) The navigable waterway portion of the Duwamish River, from Elliot Bay to the Turning Basin.

LOWER DUWAMISH WATERWAY GROUP (LDW) A partnership between King County, City of Seattle, Port of Seattle, and The Boeing Company.

LOWER DUWAMISH WATERWAY SUPERFUND Superfund site encompassing 5.5 miles of the LDW; on EPA National Priorities List since 2001.

MANUFACTURED/POST-INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE A place that has been altered by past or present industrial practices and activities.

NATURE The phenomena of the physical world collectively and the forces causing that phenomena.

SUPERFUND A US Environmental Protection Agency program that funds cleanup of toxic waste sites.

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The Possibles slow fuse is litBy the Imagination

- Emily Dickinson

PREFACE

On a warm spring day I kayaked on the Duwamish River in Seattle, in the portion of the river known as

the Duwamish Waterway, a former estuary, within the confines of the USEPA Superfund site. My trip

was part of an event called Duwamish Alive! that was organized in order to help to remove garbage

and invasive plants from the river and its banks, and plant new vegetation at restoration sites, as a part of

larger restoration efforts on the River. In addition to the flotsam and jetsam of styrofoam, plastic objects,

discarded metal and other trash on and alongside the water I saw two harbor seals, cormorants, kingfishers,

seagulls, small black birds, crows, geese, and fish jumping out of the Muckleshoot tribes fishing nets.

I made my way from the boat launch at Duwamish Waterway Park to Terminal 107 Park via the Turning

Basin, the last stretch of the navigable part of the Lower Duwamish Waterway. I passed under the

disconnected South Park Bridge, and it was clear from the rusting metal and cracked concrete why it had

been rated a 4 out of 100 by the Federal Highway Administration before it was shut down. I speculated

about what might be under the abandoned Boeing Plant 2 building, constructed on piers and in the

beginning stages of total demolition. Paddling under large barges where the most collected, I stuffed all

kinds of trash into a huge garbage bag and then headed to Terminal 107 Park. At the park I pulled up

to a new boat launch and got out, joining hundreds of others including city government, native people,

volunteers and community members, who had gathered for a ceremony during the event.

Before my first kayak trip on the Duwamish I had only seen the river from the road and the air, and as it is

an overwhelmingly industrial river it was hard to see the potential for rich experiences, sights, and life. By

experiencing the place up close, on the water and along ever-changing shoreline, I saw the strange beauty

of the industrial landscape in its functional forms, and the ways that flora and fauna find their places in the

landscape in empty sites and abandoned structures. I began to comprehend the local to global networks

that it was a part of as I watched the activity at the metal recycling plant and heard the sounds of the

shipping containers stacking on top of one another. My thesis project attempts to understand the river, its

problems and potential responses. Using research, personal experience, and contemporary methods of

analysis and design to understand more about the river, and looking at the Duwamish as a continuum of

past, present and future, I opened my imagination to possibilities for this terra incognita.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you first and foremost to my wonderful advisors: to Jeff Hou, for his enthusiasm, unique ideas, excellent theoretical and design guidance, and ability to inspire my project to take different directions of exploration; and to Thasa Way for her insight, expertise, constructive criticism and for exposing me to so many professional projects that have sparked my own design ideas. I would also like to thank Professor Julie Parrett for her guidance in the site design process and overall support of my work this year. I will continue to be inspired by their remarkable work and teaching throughout my career.

Thank you to the following professors, for your insight, leadership, ideas, and informative classes that will continue to shape the way that I look at and practice landscape architecture and urban design: Nicole Huber, Nancy Rottle, Lynne Manzo, Manish Chalana, Steen Hyer, Sophie Sahlqvist, Benjamin Spencer, Daniel Winterbottom, Ralph Stern, Fritz Wagner, Luanne Smith, Kenneth Yocom, David Streatfield, Jan Whittington, Donald Miller, and midreview critics Kongjian Yu and Pierre Belanger. Thank you also to JoAnne Edwards, our wonderful program coordinator.

To my family and friends: I could not have done this without your support, encouragement, advice, help, love, and the good times that I have when I take a break from school and spend time with you. I am so lucky to have you in my life and you are my inspiration for wanting to work to improve the world and our experience in it. A thousand thanks, I love you.

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DEDICATION

To my grandparents.

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Landscapes are made and remade. Peter Reed, Groundswell

INTRODUCTION

As Seattles only river, the heavily industrialized Duwamish holds layers of history and meaning,

people and culture, contamination and habitat. The Duwamish is simultaneously a river beginning high

in the Cascade Mountains, a straightened navigable waterway flowing into Elliot Bay, and a tidal estu-

ary ruled by the moon and the seasons. In 2001, 441 acres of the Lower Duwamish Waterway (LDW)

was named an USEPA Superfund site, and several Early Action Areas (EAA) have been identified for

cleanup. Duwamish Palimpsest explores the various past, present and future realities and visions of the

Duwamish, and how landscape architectural methods of analysis, design, and representation at various

scales can begin to create places that respect the layers of history on these sites while taking action

today and imagining potential futures.

The seemingly disparate natures found on the Duwamish are found in urbanized areas throughout the

world and, as we acknowledge the importance of cleaning up sites polluted by heavy industry, we must

collectively deal with the problem of these sites, and rectify their danger to environmental and human

health. How do we initiate and guide these projects as a community, and what is the role of landscape

architects and urban designers in shaping the future of these places? Duwamish Palimpsest looks at the

The Duwamish River/Estuary/Waterway/Superfund site: on the water [author]

challenges through the lens of contemporary landscape theory of analysis, representation and design in

conjunction with identifying various ways that the river has been viewed, depicted, mapped, and altered

throughout its history. As a concluding project, I propose design interventions along the Duwamish

that project potential futures for this manufactured landscape.

Toxic cleanup is an important aspect of improving local, regional, and global ecologies. Landscape

architects bring a unique viewpoint to the cleanup process, by thinking about the time-based potential

of sites over time and designing places that have relevance to the layers of history and future uses of

the site. Landscape architects are trained to see aesthetic and process-based qualities of place that

those in other disciplines might miss. At its best, landscape architecture combines functional design and

art, to solve problems and create comfortable spaces while also suggesting more questions and inspir-

ing people to think more deeply about place. Duwamish Palimpsest explores ways to process infor-

mation and work at various scales of geography and time to analyze, represent, and design for a place

through landscape intervention, text, and image.

Designers can act as activists, identifying issues, analyzing, and re-framing them in ways that are

proactive and address various scales. The process of shifting our relationship to the post-industrial

landscape has begun, but has not reached the mainstream, and we are dealing with myriads of sites

across the world that need the attention of designers that understand this relationship and can address

their environmental, social, political and economic futures. Through design activism landscape architects

can assist people with the means of understanding the healing process of these contaminated sites

through aesthetic and physical interactions. By interpreting the layers of landscape through representa-

tion and experiential interventions, landscape architects can affect how we look at Seattles only river

during this point in the cleanup process and shape the actions that are taken toward a better future for

the Duwamish.

During the thesis writing process, I sought to understand the changing natures of the Duwamish

River/Estuary/Waterway/Superfund Site. My research was driven by the question: How can the land-

scape architect/urban designer/landscape urbanist process information and work at various scales of

geography and time to analyze, represent, and design a manufactured site through landscape interven-

tion, text, and image? I sought to understand the role of the landscape architect in the regeneration of

depleted landscapes, and how landscape architectural design can create a link between the historic past,

present culture, and future uses of a waterway site. In addition to design strategies, I looked at various

ways that information has been presented for a widely encompassing project like the Duwamish Super-

fund, and once that information was processed, how I could contribute to a wider understanding of the

problems facing Seattles only river, propose ideas for the future of the river, and create a relevant site

design for a contaminated site adjacent to the Duwamish.

In mobilizing the new ecologies of our future metropolitan regions, the critically minded landscape urbanist cannot afford to neglect the dialectical nature of being and becoming, of differences both permanent and transient. The lyrical play between nectar and NutraSweet, between birdsong and Beastie Boys, between the springtime flood surge and the drip of tap water, between mossy heath and hot asphaltic surfaces, between controlled spaces and vast wild reserves, and between all matters and events that occur in local and highly situational moments, is precisely the ever-diversifying source of human enrichment and creativity.

James Corner, Terra Fluxus

LITERATURE REVIEW

Traditionally, landscape architecture is the art of incorporating functional and aesthetic concerns within the peculiarities of a particular location, inherently marking the character and specificity of the time and place.

Steen Hyer, Things Take Time and Time Takes Things

DEFINING LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: SCALES, CITY, ECOLOGY

Landscape architects create innovative and specific solutions for sites at many scales of analysis,

planning, design, and stewardship, from a master plan for a waterfront to the design of a bench in a park.

The Washington chapter of the American Society of landscape architects defines landscape architecture

as: The art and science of analysis, planning, design, management, preservation and rehabilitation of the land. The scope of the profession includes site planning, garden design, environmental restoration, town or urban planning, park and recreation planning, regional planning, and historic preservation. Practitioners share a commitment of achieving a balance between preservation, use and management of the countrys resources.2

Duwamish Palimpsest investigates the role of landscape architects in the rehabilitation of toxic waterway

sites, and why (or why not) landscape architecture is vital to reclaiming these sites as healthy places.

With the landscape architects training and ability to see processes at many different scales, understand

networks, bring different entities together, and formulate a site-specific future vision, landscape archi-

tects may be ideal candidates for leadership roles in projects like the Duwamish Superfund Cleanup.

Yet, when landscape architects are involved with these projects it is usually as a designer of individual

parcels of land as small-scale parks or recreational sites. JA Brennan and Associates, designers of one

such site along the Duwamish, Herrings House Park, explain their idea of the landscape architecture

profession as it relates to rehabilitation of manufactured sites:Landscape architecture encompasses a wide range of design issues. It not only integrates people and the landscape, but its theories can be instrumental in repairing the damage of past industrial practices. Landscape architects have the practical experience and knowledge to take science, interpret it, and implement it, thereby creating a living and sustainable environment. Ele-ments integral to the success of projects include: Guiding Stewardship, Creating a Vision, Coor-dinating the Process, and Following Up.3

scale, city, ecology: flower growing in concrete steps [author]

Coordinating the process is key to dealing with

complex contaminated landscapes. The landscape ar-

chitect and theorist James Corner categorizes the role

of landscape architects as the master choreographers

who are able to see and shape enormously compli-

cated phenomena into new organizations.4 The idea of

landscape architect as master choreographer is a good

place to begin to look at the profession as it relates to

projects like the Duwamish River cleanup. The mas-

sive amount of information available for a project like

this, especially in the information age, coupled with the

disparate communities that make up the area, varied

spatial arrangements and building/landscape typologies,

the palimpsest of historical layers, and the unknown

future of both our city and the river make this project

vast in scope.

Landscape architects are educated to think

holistically, at varying scales and within long timelines.

With this framework, we can initiate what the land-

scape architects and writers Anu Mathur and Dilip da

Cunha call an activist practice. They describe activist

practice as a process to affect change, from policy to

pedagogy right down to how people image and imag-

ine environments, both built and natural.5 Visualizing

landscape is limited to the information an individual has

their experience of landscape coupled with their pre-

vious assumptions and knowledge. However, as Olafur

Eliasson notices, contemporary culture has a tendency

to objectify a vast quantity of systems relations, situa-

tions and ideas by depriving them of their temporal di-

mension.6 In an activist practice Mathur and da Cunha

attempt to prepare the ground for potential projects

by raising questions and creating new ways of visual-

izing places and their history, geography, politics, poli-

cies, design and planning approaches. Urban planner

and author Kevin Lynch said, At every instant, there is

more than the eye can see, more than the ear can hear,

LITERATURE REVIEW8

An example of affecting change through visualization. [Anu Mathur and Dilip da Cunha, Mississippi Floods]

Scale in landscape architecture goes beyond site boundaries for individual projects: aerial view of Fresh Kills, a former landfill on Staten Island that will be turned into multi-use public space [Field Operations]

9defining landscape architecture: scales, city, ecology

a setting or a view waiting to be explored. Nothing is experienced by itself, but always in relation to its

surroundings, the sequences of events leading up to it, the memory of past experiences.7 By creating

new knowledge for people to process, we can change peoples experience of the Duwamish River. Boat

and kayak tours by the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition are an essential part of why I first became

interested in the Duwamish River, and now that I have more information I see the place very differently

than when I first experienced it on the water or from the shore.

LANDSCAPE URBANISM:

FRAMEWORK FOR CREATING THE CONTEMPORARY CITY

An offshoot of landscape architecture, architecture and planning, landscape urbanism is a modus

operandi that landscape architects can use to act as choreographers of the contemporary condition

and address complex projects such as Superfund sites. Landscape urbanism looks at landscape process

over time and ecological networks spanning various scales as models for creating the contemporary

city. Charles Waldheim, editor of the Landscape Urbanism Reader, defines landscape urbanism as, a dis-

ciplinary realignment currently underway in which landscape replaces architecture as the basic building

block of contemporary urbanism. For many, across a range of disciplines, landscape has become both

the lens through which the contemporary city is represented and the medium through which it is con-

structed.9 As the architecture collective Archigram stated in 1963, Architecture is only a small part

of city environment in terms of real significance; the total environment (i.e. the surrounding landscape,

infrastructure, systems, etc.) is what is important, what really matters.10 Landscape urbanism theories

stress the importance of working with the total environment when making design decisions.

James Corner outlines four themes for landscape urbanism practice: processes over time (sys-

tems instead of spatial approach, at multiple scales), staging of surfaces (surface as urban infrastructure

supporting possibility), operational or working method (complex synthesis and representation at differ-

ent scales), and the imaginary (motivation to create). He states that, Apparently incoherent or com-

plex conditions that one might initially mistake as random or chaotic can, in fact, be shown to be highly

structured entities that comprise a particular set of geometrical and spatial orders. In this sense, cities

and infrastructures are just as ecological as forests and rivers.11 Urbanism is fluid, in motion, ever

landscape + urbanism: downtown Seattle from West Seattle looking across bay [author]

11landscape urbanism: framework for creating the contemporary city

The Highline in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City is an example of James Corner field operations applying landscape urbanism theory to practice. I[highline.org]

In Taking Measures Across the American Landscape Corner used photography by Alex S. MacLean, collage, and text in an attempt to describe aspects of the American landscape. This image from the book depicts the Hoover Dam and the Colorado River in Nevada. [Corner and MacLean]

changing and applying to new configurations and

ecologies social, infrastructural, and ecological.

This fluid urbanism change and movement in

the urban and ecological environment focusing

on processes, flow, flux, and temporality is

seen at all scales of the Duwamish watershed.

Landscape urbanism is not a theory of

design, but rather, a framework for practice that

one might call a praxis that offers innovative

perspectives on theory and practice of urban

design. The designer and theorist Christopher

Hight points out that the urban environment

has changed so much in the modern era that

objects of architectural and urban knowledge

such as the city no longer exist as objects

accessible to (the fields of architecture and

urbanism).12 Colin Rowe and Fred Koetters

depiction of the re-evaluation of the modern

situation in their 1978 book Collage City is an in-

teresting precursor to landscape urbanism, at a

time when modernist ideals and methods were

being recognized as failures. They speak about

the bricoleur, which reads as similar in de-

scription to a contemporary landscape urbanist,

in a world where artistic creation lies mid-way

between science and bricolage13 Thinking of a

site as a palimpsest or bricolage prompts de-

signers to use layers of history to reveal aspects

and conceal other aspects of the site over time

and within an expandable scale of geography.

Collage and juxtaposition in design and repre-

sentation allows this history to be understood

not as a linear phenomenon but as a variety of

situations that the place has experienced over

time.14 Thus site is complex rather than linear.

As the landscape architect and critic

Julia Czerniak argues, To think about landscape

is to think about site. She explains landscape

LITERATURE REVIEW12

urbanism stating, The notion of site propelling landscape design work interfaces with the emerging amalgam of practices known as landscape urbanism, a phrase taken here to be the conceptualization of and design and planning for urban land-scapes that draw from an understanding of, variously, landscapes disciplinarity (history of ideas), functions (ecologies and economies), formal and spatial at-tributes (both natural and cultural organizations, systems, and formations), and processes (temporal qualities) impacting many scales of work.15

The experience and the ephemeral are important factors that landscape architects

address, in addition to scale, process, and time. What is site in the context of the Du-

wamish? Is it the parcel, the river, the region? How can design techniques incorporat-

ing bricolage and palimpsest incorporate this multi-faceted notion of site? What other

methods can be used to put together or take apart site concepts in design practice?

Since environmental design is eventually judged by experience of place, landscape

architects and other practitioners of landscape urbanism need to effectively address

designing for site experience, while being aware of and addressing challenges at several

scales of time and geography.

The landscape urbanism writers stress the importance of creating new meth-

ods and frames for working in this hybridized context in order to more fully under-

stand the contemporary city. Implicit in these emerging alternative methods are new

integrations between urbanism, architecture, and landscape in design practice. The

interdisciplinary nature of working in the contemporary field is an important aspect

of landscape urbanism. Hight remarks on what he calls the transdisciplinary project

of landscape urbanism explaining the way that he believes each discipline thinks and

acts: Architecture traditionally operates through an ethics of stasis, truth, whole-ness, and timelessness; urban planning operates via control, determinism, and hierarchy. In contrast, landscape design appears to offer an ethics of the tem-poral, complexity, and soft-control with a commensurable spatial and organiza-tional repertoire.16

In my experience in these disciplines, my observations echo those of Hights. The

landscape architect is uniquely qualified to unite these disciplines in a large-scale proj-

ect because we have training in landscape urbanism, using various methods of working

to find solutions to design challenges through viewing the systems of ecology and so-

ciety as constant and connected transformers of the landscape. 17 The shift in thinking

includes seeing landscape as a way to deal with the placelessness, mobility, consump-

tion, density, waste, spectacle, and information overload of the contemporary city by

reading the systems that create it as four-dimensional systems of flux,18 constantly

changing in time and space.

13landscape urbanism: framework for creating the contemporary city

EPA CLEANUP TIMELINE 50 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50+

alternative 1+no further action (29 ac EAAs)+no risk reduction goals (baseline)

alternative 2R/2CAD+targets hot spots in the LDW (30 ac)+upland disposal of dredging or on-site

alternative 3R/3C+targets intertidal areas (57 ac)+contingency plan if goal not met

alternative 4R/4C+active remediation (114 ac)+contingencies if goals not met

alternative 5R/5RT/5C+increased active cleanup (157 ac)+on-site soil washing option (5RT)

alternative 6R/6C+only active treatment (299 ac)+most stringent plan by EPA

years to construct

time to long-term pre-dicted concentrations

cost (millions)

$1400

$1300

$1200

$1100

$1000

$900

$800

$700

$600

$500

$400

$300

$200

$0Four dimensional systems of flux: detail of cleanup timeline (see design for the future chapter for complete image) [image by author based on EPA data]

POST-INDUSTRIAL PRACTICE:

A CALL FOR TRANSDISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE

Progressive site planning and design approaches are necessary to revitalize sites like the aban-

doned industrial parcels around the Duwamish Waterway in a way that involves the various stakehold-

ers. These types of sites are known as manufactured, post-industrial, toxic, waste landscapes,

and terrain vague. The editor of Manufactured Sites, Niall Kirkwood explains, Unlike past innovations

in landscape design and city planning, which responded to economic change, or growing alterations

to population or technological invention, this type of design work is a return to the productive use of

exhausted and currently undervalued plots of ground a tidying up of the past industrial environment.

The tidying up of the past industrial environment depends on the success of a range of site engineering

and environmental reclamation technologies, including: dredging, cap-and-fill, soil cleaning, bioremedia-

tion, phytomediation, and other biological and engineered systems for remediation of contamination.

After those systems are in place, relying on wastewater systems and environmental monitoring to

prevent further contamination after cleanup is very important. Beyond remediating contaminants, one

of the main tasks of a reclamation project for scientists, engineers and site designers together is to find

innovative ways to unite these activities with new site programs and uses.20 Experimental mindsets

and agendas are important for projects like the Lower Duwamish Waterway (LDW) cleanup, when

there is no way of knowing exactly what is contaminating the riparian areas and how to deal with clean-

A post-industrial site: Terminal 117 Early Action Area. [author]

15post-industrial practice: a call for transdisciplinary knowledge

up in a fluctuating environment. For example, one

of the new ideas the EPA has used in this cleanup

is using sugary soda, which feeds bacteria that then

neutralizes contamination in a somewhat mysteri-

ous, creative, scientific way.21 To understand how

one might approach the design of the Duwamish, it

is critical to consider the breadth of projects that

have established a range of design practices ad-

dressing toxic landscapes, waterfronts, and urban

Superfund sites. In the following brief review of

significant projects that have shaped the practice in

the past thirty years, the need for transdisciplinary

knowledge becomes clear. None of these sites can

be addressed by merely designing away the toxic

remains of an industrial past. Each project engages

teams of professionals and academics that are com-

mitted to identifying better means and frameworks

for re-designing the urban industrial past in order

to serve as public and productive spaces. The fol-

lowing projects are not a comprehensive list, but

suggest the breadth and depth of the transdisc-

plinary explorations.

Gasworks Park in Seattle, designed by Rich-

ard Haag after the 1962 Worlds Fair and opened

in 1976, is one of the pioneer projects for post-in-

dustrial transformation through landscape architec-

ture. Utilizing a design strategy that simultaneously

addressed ecological cleansing and cultural experi-

ence, Haag originally proposed a design for a heav-

ily programmed park that had opportunities for

various activities described in the proposal as: mind

play, fantasy play, kinetic sports, table sports, com-

petitive sports, and social pleasures. These activities

were proposed as a means of engaging the public in

the potential of the site as a park while it retained

its industrial architecture and served as a site of

phytoremediation. Many of the activities such as

sailing, sunbathing, kite flying, fireworks, parades, and

Photograph of one of the industrial structures at Gasworks, juxtaposed with a mirror image of the grassy ground. Today the structures are surrounded by a high chain link fence to keep people off the structures and graffiti is scrubbed off or painted over. Haags original plans called for heavier programming of the park. [author]

Photograph of Gasworks Park today, with the downtown Seattle skyline in the background, across Lake Union; the gasworks in the middle; and the armature for a train trestle in the foreground. [author]

others are possible and celebrated in the park but the final design is only lightly programmed for specif-

ic activities; and some of Haags proposed activities are notably absent, like structure climbing and (safe,

allowed) swimming.22 As the design was developed, Haag and Associates chose to limit the number of

specifically programmed areas to allow for more unprogrammed spaces, thus designing a programmatic

resiliency into the site.

The site that would become Gasworks Park had been vacant since 1956 after Seattles conver-

sion to natural gas, and contained the last remaining gasification plant of the 1,400 once found in the

United States. Before the gasworks were built the Olmsted Brothers recommended the location for

a park. In 1903 they stated, the point of land between the northeast and northwest arms of Lake

Union and the railroad should be secured as a local park, because of its advantages for commanding

views over the lake and for boating, and for a playground.23 In 1911 the civic master plan for Seattle

targeted Lake Union for commerce and industry (as Lake Union was named in anticipation of the con-

nection between Lake Washington and Puget Sound) and the Seattle Gas Light Company had already

acquired the property that would house the gasification plant.24

LITERATURE REVIEW16

photocollage of kite hill activity on a sunny, windy afternoon. [author]

17post-industrial practice: a call for transdisciplinary knowledge

Haag recommended preservation of parts of the plant for its historic, esthetic and utilitarian

value,25 however it was difficult to gain public support for the reuse of the structures because it was

unheard of at that time to preserve industrial infrastructure. After some deliberation Haags idea was

used and some of the remnants have been left as ruins, most have been removed, while others have

been reconditioned and adapted. Features such as Kite Hill were added to create an experience of

moving through space and time, as well as to contain the most contaminated material on site. The park

uses bioremediation to clean the soil, which has helped to significantly reduce surface contamination

(the groundwater remains minimally polluted although it poses no health risks). Contamination that

was deemed impossible to be cleaned on site because of levels of toxicity was piled and capped, to be-

come the large mound of Kite Hill. An original idea was to take the contaminated soil away to a landfill

and Rich Haag fought that, choosing not to create problems elsewhere i.e. passing the buck.26 This

is something that I think the EPA should consider as a major aspect of the cleanup on the Duwamish.

By shifting the contaminated soil to a landfill in Eastern Washington, we are merely shifting the prob-

lem, and therefore analysis should be done to find ways that soil can be cleaned or contained on site if

feasible.

The symbolic nature of Gasworks Park is very important. Haags design is a thick section,27

with layers of history, ecology, and experience of the site. The story of the site is written on the land.

Gasworks Park designer Richard Haag was totally dedicated to his project, opening an on-site office and working hard to convince stakeholders that many of the industrial structures and contamination of the former gasworks should stay on-site. Haag and his associates made elaborate drawings, such as this cut-and-fill diagram, to figure out the logistics of treating and containing contamination on site, manipulating views, and providing space for activities. [Richard Haag Associates, Inc. for the City of Seattle]

LITERATURE REVIEW18

For example, large trees mark the edge of the contaminated soil, and the aforementioned Kite Hill

shows the massive amounts of soil that were too contaminated to be bioremediated with available

technologies, which is the process that the rest of the rolling landform of the park is undergoing to

gradually heal the soil and purify groundwater. With the preservation of the hulking gasworks struc-

tures, the park tells a narrative of a past industrial landscape on Lake Union. The success of Gasworks

Park as a toxic landscape that is able to become a public space demonstrates that public perception

about preserving industrial landscapes can change with public access and site experience. Paul Gold-

berger of the New York Times recognized the importance of Gasworks Park even before the park was

opened and wrote, Seattle is about to have one of the nations most advanced pieces of urban landscape design. The complex array of towers, tanks and pipes of the gas works forms a powerful industrial still life serving both as a visual focus for the park and as a monument to the citys industrial past. The park represents a complete reversal from a period when industrial monuments were regarded, even by preservationists, as ugly intrusions on the landscape, to a time when such structures as the gas works are recognized for their potential ability to enhance the urban expe-rience.28

Haags unique approach to post-industrial sites through landscape design has influenced many subse-

quent projects and has changed the way that we approach manufactured landscapes.

The Ford Rouge River Plant in Dearborn, Michigan, is an example of how a heavily polluted

industrial site can be once again transformed into a working factory, but one that maintains a healthy

environment for its employees and neighbors. This project, designed by William McDonough and

Partners with DIRT studio (1999-2001), transformed a manufactured site that was first a marsh then

a car factory, a disassembly line during the Depression, and one of the largest industrial complexes on

the planet. 29 Strategies of phytoremediation were worked out, and negotiations were made with the

EPA to clean the deeper layers of soil with experimental methods (phytoremediation, mushrooms, fungi,

etc.), rather than trucking it off site. As McDonough explains, the health of the site should be linked to

species diversity and aesthetic value rather than meeting government imposed standards. A stated goal

for the redevelopment of the factory was to have a place where employees children could be safe.30

Julie Bargmann, principle at DIRT landscape architecture studio31 explains the designers goals for this

new type of factory:Ambitious environmental initiatives are to be employed with emerging technologies forming a new landscape of production. Built Ford Tough, this landscape will manufacture vehicles along with clean water, air and soil. A future Assembly Building with industrial strength storm water channels lined with native species hedgerows, will return filtered water to the River Rouge. The Miller Road Corridor will create a public industrial heritage boulevard and welcoming entry for workers and families. Phytoremediation gardens, integrated with the historic Coke and By-Product Operations, will also offer visible signs of regeneration.32

Scape/Landscape Architecture has imagined a new productive future for the Gowanus Canal,

part of an estuarine system in New York City that is plagued by similar problems to the Duwamish.

19post-industrial practice: a call for transdisciplinary knowledge

Detail of Scape Studios rendering of their Oystertecture project. The project, created for the MoMA Rising Cur-rents Exhibition (2010), imagines a new future for New York Citys Gowanus Canal (a Superfund Site) and adjacent Upper New York Bay, with oysters providing ecological services.

Principal Kate Orff explains in a recent lecture

about the project stating, There are problems of

sewage overflow and contamination, but I would

also argue that almost every city has this exact

condition, and its a condition that were all facing.33

As designers, Scape studio has found a creative po-

tential solution for creating a new ecology on the

post-industrial, former mudflat, the Gowanus Canal,

that they call Oystertecture. Using oysters for

their ability to filter water, build reefs, and provide

a potential food source while also accentuating the

history of the local place in a city that Orff says was

built on the backs of oystermen; offers one sim-

ple but comprehensive solution to a multi-layered

problem. In Seattle, we are doing a similar project

to revive the salmon industry by improving our

salmon migration routes that have suffered with the

re-plumbing of the regional rivers in the early 20th

century. Creating safe areas for juvenile salmon

to stop on their journey through the Duwamish

is a crucial aspect of efforts to revitalize our re-

gional fisheries.34 Designers have been involved

in the restoration of some sites, but scientists do

the majority of the work for the City of Seattle to

figure out what actions are most needed. 35 The

City states that improving salmon habitat is Seattle

will improve the city for people as well, but do not

include landscape architects as potential coordina-

tors between the improvement of salmon habitat

and improving the city for people, which could be

more effective for both goals but is not part of the

process as it stands now.

In Copenhagen, the Nordhavnen proj-

ect offers yet another framework. It is currently

underway to alter a former heavy industrial area

to mixed use in the Nordhavn neighborhood, with

public entities and designers working together to-

ward a new vision for the area. Although Nordhavn

The redesign of the Ford Rouge River Plant includes the largest greenroof in the world. On the redesign of this historic factory: This is not environmental philanthropy; it is sound business, which for the first time, balances the business needs of auto manufacturing with ecological and social concerns in the redesign of a brownfield site, said Ford Chairman Bill Ford, whose great-grandfather Henry Ford constructed the complex. This is what I think sustain-ability is about, and this new facility lays the groundwork for a model of 21st century sustainable manufacturing at the Rouge. [www.greenroofs.com]

it is only 4 km from the city center and approxi-

mately the same size, it has been marginalized land

due to the lack of connection to the city.36 With a

focus on transportation infrastructure, ecology and

quality of life, as well as the preservation of 70,000

sq m of existing buildings, project leaders COBE

architects hope that this new development will re-

tain some of the existing industry while recognizing

that redevelopment will bring between 400,000 and

4,000,000 sq m of new fl oor space for new build-

ings for living and working in a prime location. The

shift from the industrial to the knowledge-based

economy is a trend that has occurred in Copen-

hagen, especially in the last ten years. Nordhavnen

is intended to be a symbol of this shift as well as a

solution to the changing needs of a society with a

strong history of and cultural inclination towards

preservation of the built environment, and COBE

is working on a comprehensive plan to achieve the

projects lofty goals.

The Nordhavnen site was created from

land reclaimed from the sea and dates back to

the 1880s. Now, about half of the area is used

for harbor-related industries and businesses and

about half is abandoned or unused. These areas are

mostly overgrown with grasses and other plants.

The potential of this landscape lies in the lack of

management, which has created a rich habitat with

a variety of plant and animal life. The designers

hope to capitalize on this existing feature of the

largely empty area as well as the proximity to the

harbor and the experiential qualities of the water,

including the ability to swim in it (perhaps one day

this will apply to the Duwamish as well, considering

that Copenhagens harbor was once also contami-

nated). The industrial past of the area has left it

with a mixture of large- and small-scale buildings

and a orthogonal grid, elements of the historical

Above: Images of Nordhavn in 2010 and COBE Architects vision for its future, with integrated metro, bicycle, and stormwater infrastructure. [Top and middle photos by author, bottom image by COBE Architects]

LITERATURE REVIEW20

character that can be used by the designers to give the new area a special character connected to its

past. The overall vision for Nordhavnen, according to the developers, the Copenhagen City and Port

(Kbenhavn By og Havn) Development Corporation is to create the sustainable city of the future.37

To them, this includes environmental responsibility as well as social diversity and addition of value. To

create this sustainable city, the use of renewable energy, optimizing resources, recycling, and low-impact

transportation will shape the new development.

The challenges of making the Nordhavnen area of Copenhagen as sustainable as the design-

ers and developers intend is very diffi cult. 38 One of the keys to creating the eco-friendly city the

designers and developers desire is to create a vibrant area, versatile because of a mix of activities and

range of uses, open to everyone (with a variety of housing types and prices, along with public spaces),

and accessible by a variety of sustainable transportation options. COBEs Nordholmene: Urban Delta

strategy includes six themes: Islets and Canals, CO2 Friendly City, Five-Minute City, Blue and Green

City, Intelligent Grid, Identity and History. The standout elements of the winning entry are: divisions of

the area into small local districts that form parts of an integrated whole, connection to the water as the

main natural element, integration of the existing built and landscape fabric, renewable energy, and the

fi ve-minute city. The future of Nordhavnen remains unclear, as the design is just now being tested as

21post-industrial practice: a call for transdisciplinary knowledge

The designers of Nordholmene: Urban Delta, COBE Architects and their team, did extensive analysis of the areas existing grid, buildings, and cultural heritage; and came up with six themes for redevelopment: Islets and Canals, CO2 Friendly City, Five Minute City (quick access for public transport and bicycles and longer routes for cars); Blue and Green City, Intelligent Grid; and Identity and History. [COBE Architects]

development begins, but the promise of a Sustainable City of the Future and the ideas that the urban

design plan puts forth, set an example of how to create a vibrant urban area for tens of thousands of

people in a former industrial zone. Spanning geography and time, Nordhavnens designers have identi-

fi ed existing resources found in many former industrial zones and have come up with new strategies for

analyzing and designing for the future.

COBE Architects analysis of the site for Copenhagen City and Port Development Corporation included fi guring out how to incorporate existing structures, maximize public space, avoid wind tunnels, and allow for variations in shape, function, and size of new structures. [COBE Architects]

LITERATURE REVIEW22

23post-industrial practice: a call for transdisciplinary knowledge

One of the seminal projects in post-

industrial transformation through landscape

design is Duisberg-Nord Landscape Park in

northwest Germany, by Peter Latz and Partners.

Visiting this place is overwhelming. Transform-

ing an enormous old industrial factory complex

into a cultural center and park, the design uses

the advantages of the defunct industrial struc-

tures the size, uniqueness, and the spatial

formations they create to maximize the ad-

vantages of the new program. Duisberg-Nord

Landscape Park is part of a comprehensive

regional effort, International Building Exhibi-

tion (IBA) Emscher Park, to deal with the huge

infrastructure left over from industry that has

now moved overseas. The dismantling of the

abandoned and rusting, iron and steel structures

involves a great economic and environmental

cost, and so IBA Emscher Park devised a reuse

strategy that preserves the historic industrial

fabric by re-envisioning them as cultural centers.

Brownfield redevelopment on a large scale has

been occurring in the region since the IBA pro-

gram targeted this area in 1989. Emscher Park

was once the center of steel and coal industries

that have now been abandoned, leaving citizens

out of work, the environment contaminated,

and the enormous structures of industry stand-

ing abandoned and neglected like many other

places in the Western world such as the Lower

Duwamish Waterway.

The German International Building

Exhibition (IBA) is a government program that

targets various regions in Germany for redevel-

opment. Instead of a top-down regional plan,

the IBA strategy uses targeted individual sites

as the basis of redevelopment. The theme of

Photographs of two IBA Emscher Park projects: Duisberg-Nord Landscape Park (top) and a park in the City of Oberhausen where the former gasometer, current exhibition hall and achor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage, is visible in the background. [Images from archinform.net]

53 CITIES, THREE RIVERS, ONE CURRENT, MANY PARTICIPANTS, DEPOSIT IN PIT, FREEDOM FOR THE RAINDROP, NATURE DEVOURS CITY, THE COAL GOES THE SUN COMES, CHANGE THROUGH CULTURE.

Map of major IBA Emscher Park projects and targeted areas. [Image and caption text from www.mai-nrw.de]

the Emscher Park IBA created by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is Integrated Regional Develop-

ment (IRD) and their strategy consists of: re-utilizing land to prevent greenfield development, extend-

ing the life of buildings through preservation and renovation, using ecologically sound construction

practices, and transforming the regions productive structure towards environmentally friendly produc-

tion methods. Another theme is Baukultur, or the culture of architecture. IBA recognizes that inno-

vative building and site design is essential for environmental, social, and economic regeneration. In this

case, architecture catalyzes urban planning rather than fitting into an existing plan. Approximately 100

projects have been made on five sites in the region, covering 800 square miles. Over ten years (which

is how long since the Superfund declaration was made on the Duwamish), creative collaborative part-

nerships, workshops, new guidelines for spatial planning, and competitions were done to create building

and landscape projects addressing the need to revitalize the area in the wake of its industrial past.

The need to cleanup toxic sites emerged in the United States following the spread of knowledge

and environmental concern in the wake of events occurring in the 1960s and 1970s, and legislative acts

such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of

1980, which established the Superfund, became regulatory catalysts for the cleanup of toxic sites. How-

ever, Superfund projects need to incorporate designs that bring these cleanup issues into light in a con-

temporary context to truly be successful on a sustainable level. A landscape architect who has worked

on several Superfund projects with the EPA, Julie Bargmann of DIRT Studio explains, by the time the

LITERATURE REVIEW24

landscape architects are on site, were usually involved in cap and cover or hog and haul operations

People want the problem to go away quickly.39 According to Bargmann, a site is healed only when it

becomes viable to the community again, and the industrial past should be exposed or recognized. She

explains, This process is a culturally significant act, which is completely foreign to the EPA. They never

consider the sites next use.40 She considers her role as a landscape architect to be that of a catalyst,

resetting a landscape of disturbance and revealing function and history along with formal appearance.

The Early Action Areas (EAA) of the Duwamish Superfund seem to all suffer from this lack of vision

for future uses. One of these sites, Terminal 11741, is the site of former asphalt manufacturing plant and

contains a high concentration of PCBs42. Without a coordinated vision the site was paved over and

fenced in, with temporary vegetation (thorny blackberry bushes) and stormwater collection system put

in place. Now, the Port of Seattle (owners of the site) is finally deciding what potential uses the site

might have, and will probably have a design for the new use in the works next year. In the meantime,

money and space were wasted on temporary solutions when the site in flux could have been part of

a wider vision to represent the optimistic future of the cleanup. Finding ways to deal with the con-

taminated sites along the Duwamish Waterway and return them to the public as new parks, new jobs

in cleaner industrial facilities, and places to dwell should be part of a coherent vision for the river as a

whole.

In Minneapolis, a recent competition to find a design team to improve the riverfront was car-

ried out by the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative. The winner was Tom Leader Studio and

Kennedy and Violich Architectures RiverFIRST which outlines the following four design principles: Go

with the Flow (design with the river), Design with Topography, Both/And (erasing dichotomies), and

Parks Plus (parks with multiple functions). The final teams in the competition made intricate videos of

their ideas that can be seen on an interactive multimedia website. The use of social media in the Seattle

Waterfront and Minneapolis River project allows more people to get information, comment on the

plans, give their own input, and get involved with the project. By integrating technology with the public

process to disseminate ideas through multimedia such as 3D renderings, maps, graphics, photographs,

videos, tweets, phone apps, audio, etc., the process becomes open to everyone with access to the infor-

mation.

One of the finalists for the Minneapolis Riverfront was Stoss Landscape Urbanism. Stoss LU de-

scribes their practice as a critical, collaborative design and planning studio that operates at the juncture

of landscape architecture, urban design, and planning in an emerging field known as landscape urban-

ism.43 Another recent Stoss LU project, the Tanner Street Initiative, proposes a series of interventions

for the Silresim Superfund Site in Lowell Massachusetts. The proposal offers an alternative approach

to the typical way of planning for a contaminated site, rather than narrowly defining a goal for the site,

the designers work to re-define the project by broadening the context, re-defining the reading of site

conditions and contexts, embracing complexities, and initiating incremental change. In addition to the

document prepared with the City of Lowell Department of Planning and Development, the designers

25post-industrial practice: a call for transdisciplinary knowledge

have created a website that allows viewers to explore various aspects of the project.44

In 2001, around the time of the Duwamish Superfund designation, a major competition was

announced for redeveloping the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, New York. Fresh Kills landfill is

bounded on the west by Arthur Kill (a waterway), which separates the island from New Jersey. Arthur

Kill is a heavily trafficked shipping lane, and huge oil tankers can be seen from the landfill. The Man-

hattan skyline is visible across the site, which was once covered by salt marshes. The landfill is 2,200

acres, and was opened in the mid-20th c. and finally closed in 2001, reopening after a previous closure

to dispose of the debris from the September 11 World Trade Center attacks. The competition was

won by Field Operations, with their project Lifescape. Lifescape emphasizes the processes of succes-

sion and habitat creation, along with extensive areas for recreation. Other competition entries looked

at regeneration in a way that addressed contamination more, such as Rios Associates RePark, which

emphasized recycling; and Mathur and Da Cunhas proposal as a place for scientific and artistic research.

As exciting as this project is for New York City citizens looking to get away from the city yet stay close,

we have to remember that closing Fresh Kills has pushed problems of waste storage onto other sites,

usually in other states, using lots of fossil fuel and pushing the problems of waste onto other communi-

ties.45

Turenscapes Houtan Park in Shanghai is an example of an ecologically regenerative landscape

on a former industrial site. The park, built for a Green Expo during the 2010 Shanghai Expo, includes a

constructed wetland, ecological flood control, reclaimed industrial structures and materials, and urban

agriculture. The recovery of this degraded waterfront is intended to happen over time, with aestheti-

cally pleasing sights and education about green infrastructure along a network of paths for visitors to

experience immediately. Houtan Park is a venerable design for ecological infrastructure, demonstrating

that multiple services for society can coexist in one place. 46 Another waterfront project, Hargreaves

Associates Crissy Field is a urban national park on the site of a former Army base in San Francisco.

The design amplifies the natural landforms as well as the cultural past through reintroducing wetlands

and dune fields, overlapping with new recreational features and historic elements. Both projects inte-

grate the waterfront with the rest of the park through a series of pathways and frame natural features

with clearly defined spaces for people.

LITERATURE REVIEW26

Stormwater is cleaned on site at Houtan Park via a linear constructed wetland,-, designed to create a reinvigorated waterfront as a living machine to treat contaminated water from the Huangpu River. [www.turenscape.com]

27post-industrial practice: a call for transdisciplinary knowledge

Turenscape uses many different methods and mediums of representing their design, which incorporates ecological and infra-structure systems, as well as cultural centers, places to socialize, and aesthetic pleasure. [www.turenscape.com]

Similar to other cities, Seattle is at-

tempting to establish a larger vision that in-

cludes dimensions of experience, economics,

and environment. The master planning process

has begun for the area just around the corner

of Elliot Bay from the Duwamish, the Central

Waterfront. Led by James Corner Field Op-

erations landscape architecture firm, the Wa-

terfront Seattle project is in the middle of the

visioning process for a master plan to revitalize

the Waterfront along 26 North-South blocks

between Belltown and Pioneer Square. The

project aims to reorient our citys connection

to Elliot Bay, and reclaim our waterfront as a

public asset that the entire city and region can

enjoy for generations. The project will set a

new standard for public access and participation

during the decision-making process, with the

goal of delivering a Waterfront for All.47 James

Corner and his team are working to design a

master plan for a new public realm at the same

time a controversial automobile tunnel and

necessary seawall replacement project is hap-

pening, and the various projects are working

to coordinate efforts. The design attempts to

conflate ecology and infrastructure (and make

a really cool place, as James Corner put it in

the October 2011 public presentation), and the

highly animated renderings of design elements

show new connections to the water and up-

hill city, new activities, and new transportation

routes. Their hyper-realistic vignettes and their

reworking of the map of the city allow citizens

to envision themselves on the new waterfront,

which is helping to smooth the public participa-

tion process. Despite criticism that the project

is not adequately addressing the citys spatial,

temporal, social, and ecological contexts,48 the

process is attempting to bring together the

A re-imagining of the Seattle Waterfront, presented to the public by the designers at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in October 2011. [James Corner field operations]

A graphic depiction of the Central Waterfront projects aim to re-orient our citys connection to Elliot Bay, presented to the public by the designers at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in October 2011. [James Corner field operations]

LITERATURE REVIEW28

varied constituencies involved and affected by redevelopment and change, something that is needed on

the Duwamish at this time of great change and financial investment.

In addition to these aforementioned projects, there are hundreds of other similar projects

that attempt to cleanup former industrial waterway sites. All around the world, industrial sites have

historically been located along waterways, needed for many industrial processes including power and

transportation. Today, despite modern power sources and new technologies, many industries still need

proximity to the water as an essential aspect of their operations. We have also found that pollution

needs to remedied and controlled, and that people also want to use waterways for non-industrial pur-

poses, such as recreation, transportation, and views. Former industrial sites abound that can be reused

for industry, or converted to parks, mixed-use development, and other uses. Connections between

industrial areas and urban centers in most cities can be made stronger, as most are within close prox-

imity to each other but psychologically may seem far apart because of a lack of links between their

transportation, use, and vastly different urban form. Working with professionals in various disciplines

in a position of choreographer, the landscape architect can see the layers of issues that are present on

manufactured sites and coordinate appropriate responses. By working together, a more holistic vision

of what is needed to move toward a healthier and more vibrant future for industrial waterways that are

in transformative stages of cleanup and development will be achieved. Landscape architects can create

a creative vision for the future but need experts from a wide array of other disciplines to work with

stakeholders, see potential problems and challenges, calculate specific solutions, bring additional points

of view and expertise in their field, in order to inform, evolve, and make a creative vision happen.

29post-industrial practice: a call for transdisciplinary knowledge

EXPERIENCE OF LANDSCAPE: LENSES OF ART + SCIENCE, CULTURE + NATURE

The traditional city with a dense urban core and its periphery has given way to a complex

and fragmented matrix of various land uses, the landscape an imprint of the dynamic city and design

processes that develop over time. The dualism that we apply to our view of the world (human vs.

natural, environmental restoration vs. design, etc.) however, challenges that complexity. The practice of

landscape architecture must widen our scope and treat design problems as a holistic enterprise encom-

passing all shades of the human experience of landscape. 50 This enterprise encompasses urbanization,

public policy, development, urban design, and environmental sustainability.51

By looking at nature and culture as separate and distinct, we miss an understanding of land-

scape as it is experienced by humans and animals. Can we really answer whether we are living in one

continuous landscape or a series of landscapes? Does it matter? Our experience of the world as indi-

viduals is always cultural so does that mean there is no natural? Especially in this day and age when

we can view almost anywhere on the globe in Google Earth in seconds, we need to rethink how art,

science, and technology effect society, politics and commerce. In Ecological Aesthetics, museum consul-

tant and curator Jochen Boberg explains that art, science and technology represent an organic system

that cannot be injured with impunity, an ensemble to be thought of ecologically, whose preservation all

technology must serve first and foremost.52 Boberg argues that the idea of culture as man and nature

as one, formed by man, has been forgotten.

experiencing place from an airplane is vastly different than experiencing it on the ground [author]

Landscape is inherently aesthetic, and

the eyes may trick us into thinking that a scene

like Yellowstone National Park is Nature, when

it has actually been engineered, preserved,

altered, and displayed to visitors as almost a

sublime large-scale work of art (brought to us

by the railroad companies).53 A recent example

of this is Christo and Jeanne-Claudes Over the

River art project, begun in 1992. In 2011, after

a long environmental review process Christo

has been given permission to construct the

piece. The site is the Arkansas River, and when

the short-term project is completed will con-

sist of 911 panels of shimmering silver fabric

suspended between the sides of the gorge that

the river flows through. The main objections to

the project, which is anticipated to bring many

tourists to the area during the weeks that Over

the River is