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July 1, 2022

Landscapes of Industrial Excess: A Thick Sections Approach to Gas Works Park

Way, Thaisa. (2013). Landscapes of Industrial Excess: A Thick Sections Approach to Gas Works Park. Journal Of Landscape Architecture, 8(1), 28 – 39.

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Abstract

Gas Works Park in Seattle, WA, designed by Richard Haag Associates and recently listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks, serves as one of the earliest post-industrial sites to be transformed into a public park through remediation and reclamation. The radical nature of the park lies in its adaptive reuse of waste landscapes, not merely ameliorating contaminated land but transforming it to serve the public. Although officials and residents called for the remains of the industrial plant to be removed, Haag convinced the public to retain elements of the industrial apparatus and, more importantly, to retain and treat the polluted soils. Previous scholarship focuses primarily on the architectural elements, leaving the landscape as mere setting. This article proposes a site narrative as read through the landform. It suggests an alternative reading that gives voice to the site's toxic history.

Keywords

Gas Works Park; Polluted Landscapes; Post-industrial Landscape; Richard Haag; Thick Sections