Fritz Hedges Waterway Park
Native and adapted plantings inspired by pre-development cultivated prairies give context to integrated interpretive features constructed of reclaimed site timbers and blackened steel. Content developed collaboratively to honor both pre-European indigenous and western site histories.
Native and adapted plantings inspired by pre-development cultivated prairies give context to integrated interpretive features constructed of reclaimed site timbers and blackened steel. Content developed collaboratively to honor both pre-European indigenous and western site histories.
1. Native and adapted meadow planting
2. Reclaimed timber and galvinized steel hand-carried boat slide
3. Reclaimed timber and oxidized steel interpretive signs (2)
Details
Role: Associate Landscape Architectural Designer and Construction Administration with Walker Macy, PIC Lara Rose. Client: Seattle Parks and Recreation
Opening in fall of 2020, Seattle’s newest waterfront park destination transformed a jumble of old buildings, concrete bulkhead, and contaminated soils into a destination with spectacular views, beach and hand-carried boat access, and a naturalized habitat-friendly shoreline. Stories relating to the site’s history of native prairie and canoe portage, timber mills, and mid-century recreational boating are thoughtfully integrated throughout the park and invite discovery. Reclaimed timber from the demolished buildings is repurposed into custom features including terrace seat-walls, a hand-carried boat slide, and a suite of vertical sculptures and interpretive signs that form gateways to the park and interpretive trail. Minimal finishing and oxidized stainless steel patina evoke the site’s industrial and natural history and allow the pieces to weather with time. Input from stakeholder and community members informed the sign content, which shares stories and maps honoring the site’s indigenous heritage and detailing the industrial marine history. The park won four awards in it’s opening year, including the WASLA Public General Design Merit Award, and a Waterfront Center Honor Award, and was featured on a Seattle Channel video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB4wC-KKrAw&feature=youtu.be
2. Reclaimed timber and galvinized steel hand-carried boat slide
3. Reclaimed timber and oxidized steel interpretive signs (2)
Details
Role: Associate Landscape Architectural Designer and Construction Administration with Walker Macy, PIC Lara Rose. Client: Seattle Parks and Recreation
Opening in fall of 2020, Seattle’s newest waterfront park destination transformed a jumble of old buildings, concrete bulkhead, and contaminated soils into a destination with spectacular views, beach and hand-carried boat access, and a naturalized habitat-friendly shoreline. Stories relating to the site’s history of native prairie and canoe portage, timber mills, and mid-century recreational boating are thoughtfully integrated throughout the park and invite discovery. Reclaimed timber from the demolished buildings is repurposed into custom features including terrace seat-walls, a hand-carried boat slide, and a suite of vertical sculptures and interpretive signs that form gateways to the park and interpretive trail. Minimal finishing and oxidized stainless steel patina evoke the site’s industrial and natural history and allow the pieces to weather with time. Input from stakeholder and community members informed the sign content, which shares stories and maps honoring the site’s indigenous heritage and detailing the industrial marine history. The park won four awards in it’s opening year, including the WASLA Public General Design Merit Award, and a Waterfront Center Honor Award, and was featured on a Seattle Channel video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB4wC-KKrAw&feature=youtu.be