Post-Industrial Holes: Landscape Remediation and Cultural Revitalization in Urban America

The revitalization of post-industrial cities lies both in landscape and in culture.  It is paramount that the core of the city does not lose its potency as industry moves to suburbs and leaves gaps in the urban fabric in the way of abandoned buildings and open space because it detracts from the quality of city life and destroys and contaminates land.  Horizontal urban sprawl is detrimental to a city’s vitality because it results in lack of activity, to mitigate this, brownfield sites must be remediated and built upon again to reconnect people and the cityscape.   The physical changes in the evolution of a city parallel the dynamism of city life in regards to technology, culture and academia.  In the past these abandoned spaces have become large-scale urban parks, such as the Millennium Park in Chicago.  A smaller scale example is Highline Park, constructed on a former industrial site in New York.  However it is critical that these smaller scale sites are revitalized as more than just as outdoor spaces.  In addition to restoring the landscape and soil quality, culture also needs to be brought back to give the postindustrial city identity again.  This can be achieved by designing the landscape and architecture using a holistic natural and cultural system, engaging water, topography and post-industrial contaminants. 

This is relevant today because of impending stagnation of cities today.  Cities are the fast paced centuries of culture and academia.  In the 19th and 20th centuries technology revolutionized work, life and how goods are made available to customers across the country.  In the 20th century manufacturing technologies migrated out of the city due to a variety of social and economic factors leaving gaps. As programs leave the city they must be replaced by something new and different because people look to the city as a node for surrounding ideas. Without this cities lose their responsiveness to people and civic life around them.

Site Analysis

Site Location

Sectional Analysis

Expanded Figure Ground

Initial Figure Ground

Initial Urban Density Study

Thesis Abstract

The revitalization of postindustrial cities lies both in landscape and in culture.  It is important that the core of the city does not lose its potency as industry moves to suburbs and leaves holes in the urban fabric in the way of abandoned buildings and open space because it detracts from the quality of city life and destroys and contaminates more land.  Horizontal urban sprawl is detrimental to a city’s vitality, to mitigate this brownfield sites must be remediated and built upon again.   In the past these spaces have become great urban parks, such as the Highline in New York.  However it is critical that smaller scale sites are revitalized as well and not just as outdoor spaces.  In addition to restoring the landscape and soil quality, culture also needs to be brought back to give the postindustrial city identity again.  This can be achieved by constructing the building in section, engaging water, topography and post-industrial contaminants.  

New Site in Hartford

This diagram shows the relationship between the proposed site for the art forum, the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Science Center.  It is located at the southern end of Hartford next to the Colt Factory building (which is currently being renovated into apartments).

This map shows the Colt Factory on the southern edge of the city in 1877.  Since then Hartford has grown and this site is very much a part of the urban fabric.

This was a drawing on the same map of a close up view of the Colt Factory building looking from the Connecticut River.  The original office building has been replaced by the one seen below.

 

This is a bird's eye view of the current abandoned office building on the Colt Factory campus.  This is looking south.

This is the view of the current building on the site from the highway.  As it is a two story building only the very top of it can be seen from the elevated highway.

This is the view looking south on Van Dyke Avenue.  The section cut shows that you can potentially see underneath the highway to the waterfront, which is off to the left of the photo.  I have not been to this part of Hartford, so I am not sure if the different levels of the highway begin here and block the view or not.

 This is the north edge of the site.  From here you can just barely see the tip of the dome over the current two story building.

This is a view from the Blue Onion dome in 1918 looking north looking towards the Travelers Tower under construction.

This is a view looking east at the 1938 flood of the Connecticut River.  The Colt Factory can be seen to the far right.

Thesis Abstract, Site and Program

Thesis Abstract:

The revitalization of postindustrial cities lies both in landscape and in culture.  To maintain the urban fabric urban brownfield sites must be remediated and built on again instead of extending the city horizontally.  It is important that the core of the city does not lose its potency as industry moves to suburbs and leaves holes in the city in the way of abandoned building and open space because it detracts from the quality of city life and destroys and contaminates more land.  In the past these spaces have become great urban parks, such as the Highline in New York.  However it is critical that smaller scale sites are revitalized as well and not just as outdoor spaces.  In addition to restoring the landscape and soil quality, culture also needs to be brought back to give the postindustrial city identity again.

Site Criteria and Selection: 

The primary element of my site is for it to be located in a secondary city where the population is lower and there is less activity due to a post-industrial migration.  This will enable my program to become a tool for revitalization in the city.  A site that was industrial at one point where remediation is necessary is also critical.  This is important because it will create a deeper tie between the architecture and the land—water, soil and geology.  Finally it should have a connection to nature making the remediation faster and clearer to the user.

I’ve chosen my site in Hartford, Connecticut.  It is the abandoned office on the Colt Armory campus at 19 Van Dyke Avenue.  This site is connected to riverfront… as much as any site in downtown Hartford can be as I-91 runs parallel to the river.  However, this creates an opportunity to bridge the gap underground giving the building a direct connection to the waterfront.  It also references the history of the city, as it is adjacent to the iconic Blue Onion Colt Armory building.

Program Statement:

What is culture?

Oxford English Dictionary Definition: Cultivation, tending.

2 The action or practice of cultivating the soil; tillage, husbandry.

3 The cultivating or rearing of a plant or crop.

3d The training of the human body.

4 The cultivating or development (of the mind, faculties, manners, etc.); improvement or refinement by education and training.

5 …the intellectual side of civilization.

In an effort to revive the culture, all elements that collectively identify culture must be explored.  The identity of a city is tied to its traditions, progressiveness and idiosyncrasies.  Some elements connected to tradition would be the flavors used in cooking in the region, the craft of the area, specifically in its architecture and also in the arts here.  Art can also be connected to the progressiveness of a city.  The dynamism of a city is what makes it an icon.  Avenues of art that can be connected to identity might include music, fashion, literature, and theater.  Another example of the capacity for change in a city lies in the digitalization of our era.  Evidence of this can be found in interactive site interventions and university and research facilities in the area.  Finally the idiosyncrasies are what set it apart from it’s sister cities.  These can be the celebrated sports team, particular flora and fauna that are native to the area, politics and religion.

That said looking at Hartford as a city in need of revitalization.  A program that is appropriate to the city would be an art forum.  Hartford is home to America’s oldest art museum and more recently a science center.  The Wadsworth Athenaeum is not an interactive space, the science center is, but Hartford is still lacking a space where ideas in art and literature can be openly communicated.  This space would include some spaces for exhibition but would mostly contain places for the exchange of ideas.  These spaces could include lecture halls, lounges classrooms and main circulation spaces where the passer-by could contribute.

Hartford: (was) America's Filing Cabinet

In keeping with the idea of a rejuvenation of landscape and culture I am interested in using Hartford as a site for my thesis project because it needs identity.  As one of the older cities in the country many significant events have occurred here making it a pretty happening place in its hey day.  Today it is known for the insurance companies, but even those have begun to migrate to the suburbs, shrinking the city core.

The footprint of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is overlaid onto the blocks I am interested using in Hartford, Connecticut to give a sense of scale.

This shows the rift in the urban fabric Interstate 84 created. A historic image of the city can be seen below depicting density of buildings.

This map shows the landmarks in Hartford, both historic and urban renewal programs.  The State Capitol overlooks Bushnell Park, the oldest public park in America.  The Wadsworth Atheneum is America's oldest Art Museum.  The Phoenix Building was built in the modernist era and is the world's first two sided building.  Union Station was built in 1889, and was rebuilt after a fire in 1914.  Today it is Hartford's transportation hub for trains and buses.  The XL Center is a convention center.  Riverfront Recapture is an urban renewal project along the Connecticut River.  It is a series of bike paths an green spaces.  It includes a dock for river cruises and a pavilion for concerts in the summertime.  Cesar Pelli's Science Center, finished in 2009 is one of Hartford's newest attractions.

This is a small piece of a bird's eye view of Hartford looking at the city from the Connecticut River drawn by O. H. Bailey & Co. in 1877.  I've highlighted the blocks that are now barren and of interest to me.  The image above also shows the river that used to flow alongside Bushnell Park.  The image below gives more detail about the demolished buildings.

A link to a Hartford Courant article about the demolition of a building on Main St. on one of the blocks I am interested in can be found here:

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-butt-ugly-building-1028-20101027,0,6116643.story

Program Diagrams

Concept Diagram

Narrative.  Diagram on top shows different types of landscape. Diagram on bottom shows activity over time.

Diagram of Circulation

Diagram of Adjacency

Program Thoughts

Activity over Time

Systems: Restoring Productive Landscapes in Urban Environments

Nature: The natural landscape results from human manipulation and forces that are out of our control.  Both cities and wilderness can be considered nature.  Cities are natural because we congregate instinctively.

Aesthetic Landscape: This land has been cultivated to look good.  Gardens, cemeteries and hiking trails are examples of this.  It has no functional use.

Recreational Landscape: This land has been cultivated to create a space for people to play or to simply enjoy being outside.

Productive Landscape: This is land that is used to grow plants, graze animals; essentially it exists to make things.  If it is also aesthetic, it’s purely coincidental.

Thesis:

The way landscape has been cultivated for use in the past 100 years has been for aesthetic or recreational purposes.  Parks such as Central Park and the High Line are examples of this.  In the post-industrial 21^st century, humans need to make the most of land in densely populated urban areas.  Brownfield sites need to restored and put to use again, while also providing spaces for recreation.  With the pollution that has built up both in the air and in the ground and the technology humans have acquired it is both reasonable and necessary that architecture today goes beyond the rooftop and below the foundation.  It must act as part of a greater system.  Productive landscapes could be restored if buildings were able to eradicate toxins within the soil using rainwater and natural means.  Simultaneously these buildings would also fulfill all programmatic needs of their occupants.

Program Statement:

As I am using my building to clean and restore the landscape on a former industrial site, it seems only fitting that the buildings serves the public as a place to restore or cultivate culture.  I propose a performance space that acts as both a place for kids to go after school to dance or practice martial arts as well as a place for professional performances and schools to use.  This will act as inspiration to the up and coming performers as well as draw in other members of the community for shows.

Narrative of Spaces:

This performance studio will be a place for all members of the community to retreat to on the regular basis.  Young children will practice here in rooms in spaces adjacent to the much older performers.  Lounges geared toward different age groups will be available as places to socialize and take a breather between practices and rehearsals.  This series of spaces should be made available to connect.  Various changing facilities and practice rooms will be found through out the building as well as a kitchen area.  In addition to this there must be offices and seminar spaces.  At the center of the space will be the main performance space.  This is where shows for lectures, dancing, martial arts, comedy and theater will be held.

Visual Abstract

Idea Map: Round 3

My Favorite Buildings (I've visited):

These are all buildings that I visited durning my Study Abroad Semester in chronological order:

I loved Norman Foster's reconstruction of the Reichstag in Berlin.  Walking up the ramp provides an excellent panoramic of the city.  Visiting it at different time of the semester enabled me to see the different positions of the sunshade.  And I loved being able to look in the mirrors and see the reflection of the Parliament meeting below.

This is the Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin.  It is a typical late 19th century museum building.  I'm partial to it because the central atrium has the largest mounted dinosaur in the world.

This is the CaixaForum in Madrid.  Herzog and de Meuron were commissioned to convert a "historic" power plant into a forum for the arts.  They raised the brick facade, removed the granite base so it would look like it was floating and added additional stories above which are wrapped in a corten steel skin.  Herzog and de Meuron commissioned French Botanist, Patrick Blanc to design a green wall for the adjacent building.  I love the juxtaposition of the materials and the plaza they create.  It doesn't hurt that there was an upside down elephant statue on display while we visited.

This is a stand at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.  The Grand Bazaar is a massive indoor market that opened in the 15th century.  It is a maze of vendors, I visited it everyday when I was in Istanbul, but that's mostly because I like buying stuff.

This is a Medusa column base in the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul.  The cistern was built in the 6th century.  The weight of the ground above the cistern is supported by columns and a vaulted ceiling.  The columns were brought from buildings all over the empire.  I like it because the amount of aesthetic detail that went into a water storage system is incredible... though only par for the course at the time.

Peter Zumthor's Kunsthause in Bregenz, Austria is another one of my favorites.  I like the double ceiling system that allows for the different lighting conditions on the interior.  I also like how everything is based on a unit and is detailed accordingly.  The width of a glass pane corresponds to a ceiling tile, interior concrete walls are one half of the width of a ceiling tile, so on and so forth.

The image on the right is a house by Gion A. Caminada in Vrin.  He bases his design on typical building typologies in Vrin (left) and is trying to bring people to this small village in the Alps through his architecture.

I loved Palladio's Villa Rotunda in Italy.  It's a classic, so you can't not like it.  I loved it because we visited it on a gorgeous day, and we sat outside with other architecture study abroad trips from America and you could just talk about architecture.  It epitomized an architecture study abroad trip.

My other favorite building is the Thermal Baths in Vals, Switzerland, but it was previously discussed in this blog.

Thesis Abstract

For centuries people have had a direct connection with nature, they harvested food, they hunted animals, and they used resources from the land to build shelter.  This gave them a direct connection with the natural world.  This connection is essential because it restores the human spirit.  This environment is stimulating but not in the way a city is.  Here, a person can reflect.  Here they can reconnect with the innocence that is found among wild species.  Additionally the scale and natural phenomena people witness in the wilderness is humbling and leads us to examine the validity and authenticity of our daily lives.

As settlements became cities across the United States, natural resources were depleted and some creatures were hunted into extinction.  The pristine landscape was being destroyed.  The first restorative measure taken was the inception of the National Parks.  Visitors could once again connect to nature, if they had the time and money to spend.  Simultaneously, the industrial revolution was occurring, cities were growing and life’s pace was increasing.  Landscape urbanism was introduced at the turn of the 19^th century, which offered some of the qualities of the untouched landscape.  These urban translations of the natural landscape were able to conjure some of the reflections and playfulness of the natural world.  This thesis is an exploration of what specifically stimulates us in nature and how it is successfully translated over the course of the 20^th century in American cities.

Image Map

This shows how landscape urbanism has progressed and how people have left the city to experience nature in the U.S. in the last 150 years.

Idea Map: Round 2

Collages (and Sections): Round 3

Passage of Time

Linearity > Passage of Time

Collages (and sections): Round 2

Passage of Time

Linearity > Passage of Time

Collages: Round 1

Passage of Time

Passage of Time

Linearity

Linearity

Boundaries

Boundaries