Dig la (2) by DTomlinson

DIG STUDIO:\\

Indeterminate Landscapes Jordan Bell \\ Tera Hatfield \\ David Tomlinson

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Masters of Landscape Architecture

University of washington 2012

committee:

Tha誰sa Way

Program Authorized to Offer Degree:

Landscape Architecture

INDETERMINATE LANDSCAPES

DIG STUDIO:\\

JORDAN BELL // TERA HATFIELD // DAVID TOMLINSON

This thesis is an interactive physical object. Due to the digital format requirement, this document is built from the constituent parts of the object. To view the original document, contact the department of Landscape Architecture.

PAMPHLET INDEX

APPENDIX A TANK FARM GAME 1

ALBINA RAILYARD

CONTAMINATION INDEX

PHYTO

GAME 3

LITERATURE

AXIOM REGIONAL ANALYSIS LABOR WHEEL

METHOD MCCORMICK & BAXTER GAME 4

LOCAL ANALYSIS

SCHNITZER STEEL GAME 2

SCRIPT SET

END SCRIPT

A PROPOSAL FOR AUTONOMOUS ECOLOGIES //EMBRACING ENTROPY

AXIOM

DIG STUDIO is a collaborative, transdisciplinary design project focusing on the spatial inquiry of post-industrial landscapes that engage technical bioremediation tactics, experimental visualization methods

Groundwork Overview

and social outreach, particularly through installations and exhibits. A major component of the project examines the process of investigation, experimentation and intervention, and how that is translated to the general public through the landscape, art and information design.

//UNDER THE PAVING-STONES, IT’S THE BEACH! —Situationist inscriptions on the walls of the Sorbonne, May 1968 Student Revolt

DIG STUDIO began by describing a distinct vocabulary as a means to discuss our project linguistically, ecologically and spatially. In its initial conversations, DIG STUDIO sifted through adjacent terms (to postindustrial) that referenced irregular and uncertain conditions within the contemporary landscape. The multiplicity of applicable terms identified suggested that conditions in certain landscapes can be in flux, and illdefined in scope, depth and perception. These fluctuating conditions originate in the recent emergence of a new disturbance regime. The term industrially-modified site is employed to characterize those {sites} in which the disturbance may be traced back to an industrial process bracketed in time by the rise of modern chemical engineering and refineries.

Categorically, industrially-modified sites generate

many instances of “other” as conventional conceptual systems erode.

Traditional ecological disturbances have now been coupled with industrial disturbances, producing new ecologies, indeterminate boundaries and unreferenced geographies. We propose to investigate these geographies through spatial analysis, the development of appropriate modes of representation, and the study of techniques with which to reclaim themâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; linguistically, ecologically, and spatially. DIG STUDIO seeks to establish operational matrices and develop tactical deployments that re[in]habit and reclaim sites and landscapes that have been modified, degraded or disturbed by former industrial trajectories and that suffer from ecological amnesia. DIG STUDIO is Leann Andrews, Jordan Bell, Tera Hatfield, David Tomlinson.

Disturbed sites are “spaces where matter, flow, and wastes know no boundaries” (Meyer 65). Disturbance is a category of critical ecological processes that generate patchwork landscapes of differing scales, resulting in complex ecosystems. Periodic occurrences of

Strata: introduction of topos Archeology & entropic natures

these

disturbance-events constitute a disturbance regime. Within a given disturbance regime, an ecosystem may vacillate between various habitat types with a more or less predictable successional set of species, where the dissipated energy from previous sets is reclaimed in the next. A regime shift occurs when the disturbance is significant enough to affect the entire cycle of successional regeneration, such as a volcanic eruption,

//NEITHER LANGUAGE NOR LANDSCAPE IS NEUTRAL OR STATIC...WE UNEARTH SHIFTING IDEOLOGIES AND UNLEASHED TOXIC SUBSTANCES. —DIG Studio

the practice of fire suppression, or climate change. However, within these historical disturbance regimes a new regime has been emerging across innumerable territories. Instigated by industrial activities, this shift not only alters entire ecosystems, but our entire understanding of them as well. Species never recorded before, such as within Butte, Montana’s Berkely Pit, have been found living on-site in anaerobic conditions immersed in toxic sludge and metabolizing with elements never thought to be viable for life (Gugliotta WIRED 5.09). Thus, the very definition of disturbed sites is often in flux—much like the landscape, it momentarily shifts and swells, collapsing while at once rebuilding through a series of thermodynamic processes.

Just as this emerging regime shift produces new ecologies, it forces us to

Once abandoned, the maintenance of those boundaries is unhinged—the

accept new ideas of landscape as well. These sites are not separate from

effects of time and the forces of entropy are left to create outputs that

“our places of home, regardless of physical distance. Toxicity flows. It

are not easily translated, incorporated, or otherwise integral to a pre-

transgresses property lines, watersheds, even ecosystems” (Meyer 65).

existing fabric— conceptual, social or otherwise.

As a result, there is a collapse in meaning between site and non-site, resulting in a confusion that originates from the transgression and break

DIG STUDIO’s design foundation relies upon the supposition that the

down of traditional boundaries, producing an ambiguity between that

theory of entropy applies to language as well as the landscape, and in

which is nature/natural and that, which is manipulated/constructed. This

particular to industrially-modified sites. Neither language nor landscape

“confusion” also stems from our socialized reliance on political territories

is neutral or static, but rather a carrier of fluid, disjunctive, cultural and

and culturally reinforced jurisdictions which do not correspond to these

social values. Within the archeological and ecological strata we unearth

flows, but which are arbitrarily imposed upon the natural terrain (however

shifting ideologies and unleashed toxic substances.

familiar they may have become). Our own waste streams sabotage our codified landscapes, territories, and notions of “time,” “place” and “here”. Toxicity flows in and out of site and sight, above and below. Here, entropy occurs not only in thermodynamic processes, but in conceptual and representational systems as well. DIG STUDIO seeks to expose entropy through the attenuation of maintenance regimes, investigating opportunities for subtly “managed” systems. Boundary conditions at active industrial sites are the work of constructed human maintenance regimes (whether successful or not).

DIG STUDIO proposes to investigate and translate expanded definitions (read: boundaries) of toxicity and infrastructure (and therefore industrially modified sites) in order to explore and re-characterize these sites/counter

Value of risk & uncertainty

Translation & transgression of strata

sites, reoriented towards the urban context, the human body and fluctuating timescapes. Transgression and transformation play an essential role in exploration and engagement of disturbed landscapes because they are [dis] placed in their conceptualization [abjection] and physical manifestations, often cordoned off—with fencing, remoteness, or both. DIG STUDIO will study the inclination to transgress and translate boundaries found in culture,

//THE DREAM OF ARCHITECTURE IS TO ESCAPE ENTROPY. —Robert Smithson

nature and cities that characterized the work of theorist Henri Lefebvre and the Situationists. In response, DIG STUDIO will test, tackle, transform and translate the very act of experimentation and risk—to investigate while intervening. During this process, DIG STUDIO will ask what contextually appropriate tactics might be used to visually or physically engage and re[in]habit these spaces. How can we embrace these evolving changes and opportunities for transformation? DIG STUDIO proposes to answer these questions with a design and research based project, examining the ever changing Willamette industrial basin of Portland, Oregon through the lens of selected disturbed sites and frames.

DIG Studio

Jordan Bell Jordan is a graduate student in Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington. He has a background in sculptural pursuits as well as

Biographies

various fabrication techniques and materials. He is interested in sculptural representations of space. He has worked in various positions in landscape architecture firms and as a surveyor prior to starting graduate school. Jordan holds a BFA with concentrations in metal fabrication, casting and ceramics as well as a BA in Environmental Studies focusing on human relations to the landscape.

Tera Hatfield Tera is a graduate student of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Washington. She is a 2012 National Olmsted Scholar Finalist as well as the recipient of the Finrow Endowed Rome Fellowship and the Copeland Endowed Fellowship in Urban Design to study infrastructure anchored to the Tiber River. She is interested in collaborative work on post-industrial landscapes and urban green infrastructure that engages experimental research and representational methods while serving as public educational outreach. Prior to attending design school, she was a writer and graphic designer in New York City. She received her B.A in English from Vassar College.

David Tomlinson David is a graduate student in Landscape Architecture at the University of

graveyard of the Rustbelt including urban vacant lots, brownfields,

Washington. He recently received the Valle Scholarship and International

interchanges, abandoned factory buildings, and industrial campuses.

Exchange Fellowship and is currently an independent researcher at the

Leann is interested in investigating ecology and landscapes as a tool

Stockholm Resilience Center, Sweden, where he is investigating resilient

to increase holistic health (environmental, social, economic, ecological,

ecological infrastructure and its relation to existing and emerging

physical, mental health etc.) at the personal, community and global

social-ecological networks. He is also collaborating on several projects

scales. Her undergraduate studies were in Landscape Architecture and

including the refinement of a proposal for a new Stockholm University

Dance at The Ohio State University.

campus in the National Urban Park, a project which blends Landscape Urbanism principles with resilience theory. Prior to enrolling at UW, he was a practicing architect, designer and luthier, living in the San Juan Islands where he also spent many seasons as a kayak guide. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the Cooper Union in 2002.

Leann Andrews Leann is a graduate student in Landscape Architecture and Global Health at the University of Washington where she manages the Green Futures Lab, an interdisciplinary research, design and education lab.

Leann

leads a duel life as a licensed landscape architect and performing artist, with professional backgrounds in Green Infrastructure design and postmodern dance. She has designed a variety of sites in the industrial

Committee

Thaisa Way (chair) Associate Professor, UW//LA-ARCH

Advisory team

Thaisa Way is a landscape historian teaching history, theory, and design. Dr. Wayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research considers how diverse approaches have shaped and informed relationships between people and landscape, cultures and nature, and practices and profession.

Ken Yocom (advisor) Assistant Professor, UW//LA-ARCH Kenâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s professional and academic interests explores the intersections between the ecological sciences and the design and management of landscapes. In particular, Ken is interested in the relationships and ecologies of natural and socio-economic processes that form and sustain the patterns of our urban environments. He views the activities of the allied design professions as catalysts for identifying, understanding, designing, and managing the inherent potential found within our built environments.

Grounding Design

LITERATURE

0.1 Intro Framed

contemporary

knowledge ecology,

and

research

landscape

urbanism,

and industrial ecology, DIG STUDIO engaged in a complex interweaving of design process and

intellectual

investigations

into

post-

industrial reclamation. The body of knowledge reviewed below represents the initial, pre-design investigation into the existing literature. Topics from ecology, landscape urbanism, landscape ecology, resilience theory, sociology, architecture, art and industrial history were examined as a means of grounding the subsequent design process. This review serves as an anticipatory act to the design process—one that seeks to delineate a territory of relevance, influence, and compatible thought. It is by no means exclusive nor exhaustive. Rather, it is intended to establish theoretical parameters as well as an initial vector of approach to an as-yet unidentified site, and

an as-yet indeterminate design process. Three

around the sun, and opened the heretic’s door to

writes

Likewise, in Ecology and Design (2002), Karr

primary areas of concentration were established

the recognition of the solar system. In short time,

…we generally understand the effects that urban

(2002) reports Ehrlich’s 1997 observation that

by DIG STUDIO early on in the process: urban

this duly lead to the development of cosmology,

development may have on ecological processes,…

“Ecology is ‘packed with papers describing more

ecology;

post-industrial

resulting in an indeterminately signified condition:

[but d]oes an increase in urban development have

and more sophisticated analyses applied to more

reclamation. These themes inform the structure

our location in the Universe as just an average

a linear effect on ecological processes? Or can

and more trivial problems,’” (p111).

and content of the review below.

planet in an average solar system in an average

we detect thresholds, and/or differentiate among

Alberti’s investigation is not trivial, but how and

galaxy (Gribbin 1999), one without absolute

types of development patterns?”(p17)

where can it, and should it, be applied?

significance.

One is left to wonder what significance this

goes on to cite Pienkowski & Watkinson (1996)

research may have beyond its pure modeling

analysis “of 60 papers published over thirty years

1.1

indeterminacy;

and

Ecology & Design

Clearly, Karr

Ecological systems have always been complex. It

This indeterminate condition parallels Huserll’s

efficacy, or if such research is merely relegated

in the Journal of Applied Ecology…[showing] that

is only recently that the tools have been developed

“crisis,” in which modern science has “’reduced

to the mathematical instrumentality of predictive

most articles lacked practical applications or

to understand them as such. It is, in many ways, a

nature to a mathematical manifold’,” (Corner,

modeling.

management recommendations,” (Karr 2002,

continuation of the epistemological mechanisms

1990) resulting in what Corner (1991) regards as

mathematical

urban

p137). The implication is that either scientists

of the Copernican revolution, where techne,

“modern techno-scientific thinking, perpetuating

development and ecological processes at one

are too consumed by solving mathematical

uncoupled from poesis, (Corner 1990) provided

an excessively ‘hard’ world in which culture

point in time be useful—or even relevant—

complexities within their isolated systems of

the basis for revelatory insight.

The question,

cannot simply figure or recollect itself,” having

in determining it at another?

And assuming

variables, or that practical applications are not

however, is not purely one of instrumentality

been deprived of both its symbolic center and its

individual variables can be dis-aggregated, would

feasible within the current modes of investigation.

(ibid), but of significance versus the signified.

mimetics. Hardness here may be refined to mean

not one variable—like the value of currency, or

Re-conceptualizing the “universe” as heliocentric

without a cosmic center, and therefore perpetually

land— affect the entire predictive capacity of the

These remarks are made within the larger

undermined the Cathollic Church’s theological

analytical. This condition is clearly evident when

model?

context of the growing dichotomy between two

position, inspired the organization of Versailles

the ecological urbanist Marina Alberti (2008)

Will

knowing

the

relationship

approximate

between

applications of ecology: as a research science and

Literature

Grounding Design

as a component of a management strategy. Karr

the shear complexity of the method of scientific

applications of ecological research remain to be

well to conservation efforts which select a species

of systems if those theories are also based on

their diachronic nature.

(2002) suggests that our knowledge of the current

research sidetracked science from the original

documented or implemented.

as a mascot for consensus building. These efforts

other systems, be they social or political.

successional diagrams in Downsview Park & Fresh

problems that constitute “biotic impoverishment”

intention of the research.

stem in part from a division in ecology between

view parallels Corner’s earlier description of the

Due in part to the overwhelming complexity

ecological. However, conservation efforts are not

The integration of ecological knowledge into the

in Olmsted’s management plans for certain

scientists

uncoupling of techne from poesis (Corner 1990),

of total-systems understanding, especially in

the only socially oriented aspect in ecology. In

design process, then, must account for several

parks, wherein he specified the gradual selective

Ecologists typically study particular phenomenon,

discussed above.

But from Karr’s perspective,

regards to ecological systems, concepts such

fact, ecology may be as much a social construct

discrepancies.

These include the differences

thinning of tree stands, rather than a formal

while natural resource managers typically study

science is endlessly circling an unacknowledged

as indicator species, processes and events have

as it is a scientifically verifiable one.

between the unknown affects on an entire

planting arrangement, thus presenting a to-be-

how to maximize particular yields, ignoring much

center, while for Corner, science seems to have

been put forward as a means of interpreting un-

system versus the measureable affects on a

determined stand of trees, and forgoing formal

of everything else. Karr (2002) continues tracing

followed its natural trajectory. It’s worth noting

quantified changes in

Poole et al (2002) acknowledge the socially-

proxy keystone species. These also include what

planting schemes. The growth and succession of

this dichotomy back to a schism in scientific

that within Karr’s critique of scientific research

serve as proxies to larger systemic relationships

constructed aspects of ecology.

For example,

processes and affects are emphasized or de-

plants, either by natural or anthropogenic means,

ideas two-hundred years ago through A. Sach’s

divergence, Karr does acknowledge one category

and contribute to the articulation of a set of

theoretical frameworks, or what constitutes an

emphasized. Thirdly, the social-political context

provides one indication of temporality.

(1995) summary of von Humboldt’s quest to

of application-based ecology: the delivery of

potential metrics.

These proxies are often

actual benefit, are parameters that are chosen.

in which ecological knowledge is generated within,

develop a ‘unifying theory’ of natural phenomena,

recommendations regarding wildlife management.

termed key species, key processes, and key

Poole et al also note how these choices may differ

or applied onto, will influence its integration into

Another essential component of this investigation

the emergence of science, and the subsequent

This overlap and potential integration is evidenced

events (Johnson et al 2002b). Examples of some

between different groups. Take, for example, the

a design. It may be that what has been chosen to

is the abiotic processes, such as erosion and

specialization of science. This specialization (for

in aspects of the Seattle Waterfront development

key species are well known, such as the salmon

discrepancy between research ecologists and

be measured is in fact not a predictor of overall

sedimentation, that play a critical function in

Karr and for Sachs) clouded society’s view: the

planning in the approach to juvenile salmon, for

in Washington State, or the wolf in Montana. In

natural resource managers discussed above. At

systems behavior, but a socially selected variable.

landscape formation and design.

ideas and components of systems became more

example. Other examples include more regional

each case, the absence of the species results in

the same time, Karr (2002) points to Schneider’s

significant than the system itself. As scientific

work employing graph theory to map potential

noticeable and system-wide alterations to the

(1997) emphasis on addressing interdisciplinary

Despite these uncertainties, there are process-

park as an example, in which sediment transport

research departed from van Humboldt’s original

corridors, and wildlife crossings at freeways,

ecosystem in which it resides. For this reason

integration

based elements that are integral to many

was physically modeled and the resulting fluvial

quest—to identify humanity’s position within

as in Jones & Jones design/ planning project

they are also termed “keystone species” (Paine

complicated social-political contexts.

landscapes.

geometries

the larger context of interconnected systems—

located along I-90 in Washington. Other direct

1969). Certain keystone species lend themselves

ecology is even more complex than just its theory

and

natural

resource

managers.

Karr’s

point

are as much social undertakings as they are

larger systems.

These

ecological

knowledge

within Surely,

This is evidenced in

Kills proposals, among others. It was also present

Czerniak

(2002) describes Hargreave’s Guadalupe River

These elements are manifested

through their change over time, that is, by

manifested.

These

geometries

present both a representation of a process as

well a simultaneous embodiment of it. This two-

degrading them. In some cases, these processes

to an irreconcilable condition within landscape

and was used to compare possible consequences

fold presentation is quite different from Eisenman

are easier to model and understand than larger,

architecture: the imperative to work with natural

stemming from different priorities. It is of interest

As with multiple spatial-scales, multiple time-

patterns may never be fully understood. Long-

& Olin’s Rebstock Park1, in which ground is

more complex and potentially indeterminate

processes in order to benefit the well being of

that the most certain outcome (for all 3 scenarios)

scales are necessary and crucial components of

phased feed-back loops may not even be readily

considered and manipulated (Czerniak 2002),

ecological processes.

ecological and social systems, and the inability to

was the increase in fresh water consumption.

understanding feedback loops. The ecologist S.

apparent yet, and, as in Carpenter’s (2001)

Carpenter (2001) breaks down feedback loops,

example of Lake Mendota, WI, alterations to some

but process is relegated to intellectual privity,

truly understand the larger systemic permeations

(ibid). The impacts of contemporary urbanization

“’…which becomes a topologic event /structure,’

The question, then, for landscape architecture,

of such work. The process of verification is not

It would be a mistake to restrict consideration of

or adaptive cycles, into four stages: (i) rapid

natural processes may be irreversible due to a

that

subsequently

is how can indeterminate ecological systems

only elongated with respect to other design

ecological processes to regional scales. Certainly

growth-r; (ii) conservation-K; (iii) collapse-Ω; and

new state of resilience (see section 1.4).

reframes—normative relationships…” (Czerniak

knowledge be incorporated functionally, and

disciplines, such as architecture, it may also be

the smaller scale of site embodies the same

(iv) renewal and reorganization- α. Alberti (2004)

2002,

George

simultaneously, within a landscape that embodies

asymptotic—having no clear means of verification.

principles. And S. Steingraber’s (2002) poignant

notes that “feedback is phased-lagged often

Hargreave’s Guadalupe River project, Kristina

and figures meaning? In other words, how can

essay takes this down to the level of the body as

by decades,” and that the cause and effect are

Hill (2002) exhibits her interventions in the Shop

potentially conflicting interpretations of place

at some length. She says that not only is “[u]

well, all the way to amniotic fluids.

typically not correlated nor clearly connected.

Creek Wetlands—sand and concrete berms that

and science coexist within a ‘singular’ design with

ncertainty … intrinsic to ecology,” but that “[t]

changes happen slowly, often at the scale of

slowly erode over the course of time while slowing

geographic specificity?

here is rarely a clear link between one cause

site, (Hill 2002) before it is documented at the

In the case of urban landscapes, feed-back loops

degree of urbanization, as well as changes

and a particular effect,” (p423). Her proposed

regional scale, and it is perhaps more feasible to

may not only be phase-lagged, but geographically

within the epistemology that has developed

solution is to explore “probable outcomes” and

notice such changes at this smaller scale These

displaced as well.

around it, have introduced new ways of thinking

“multiple

iterations…”

small changes in system patterns at one scale

magnitude of the disturbances.

Through the

about urbanization, landscape, and ecology.

(p423). A similar strategy was implemented in

can generate instability at another scale (Alberti

processes of urbanization, natural landscapes

Alberti (2004) argues that “urban ecosystems

are

have a chance to change trajectory toward

inevitably p114).

dissolves—yet With

similarities

flood waters to allow for both sedimentation and a decrease in the rate of erosion upriver of the reservoir. Stormwater runoff is yet another process shaping innumerable projects.

1.2 Ecology, Design, & Indeterminacy

The

Kathleen Poole et al (2002) discuss this

expressions,

various

Ecological

1.3 Design & Urban Ecology Urbanization, as well as the study of it (urban ecology) both unfold slowly through time.

This is due in part to the

The

management of abiotic processes may, in turn,

Given the discussion above, it is not likely that

a stakeholder workshop entitled “Conservation

2004).

affect

landscape architects should be expected to

2050,” (Baker 2004). This workshop was based in

scales may lead to statistical relationships but

introduced, manufactured landforms and patches

the development of self-organizing processes

predict the exact ecological outcomes of their

modeling the probable outcomes of stakeholders’

may overlook important feedback loops (Picket &

are produced, and biological heterogeneity is

of interacting ecological and socio-economic

works.

visions for the future of the Willamette River Basin,

Ostfeld 1994).

minimized through homogenous land-use patterns

functions,” (p249). Others have shown that this

ecological

processes—enhancing

See Fischer, Volker, Frankfurt Rebstockpark: Folding

However, these outcomes contribute

Also, examining relationships at larger

modified,

bio-geographic

barriers

state would indeed be a new state of resilience,

anticipates one method of investigation for urban

in Linda Pollak’s (2007) contribution to Large

small scales operating simultaneously in a site,

and offers an acknowledgement within the

able to provide a structure from which to explore

and be bounded by a new set of attractor domains

ecological reclamation, the restoration of essential

Parks (2007), entitled ‘Matrix Landscapes. In

to allow the making and interweaving of radically

operational and generative process of design

multiple outcomes to design and management

(e.g. Carpenter 2001, Holling 2001, Sheffer 2001,

ecosystem services, and a trajectory for future

‘Matrix Landscapes,’ Pollak (2007) proposes a

different kinds of places…(pp102-103)

that plurality, multiplicity, and indeterminacy are

decisions.

Picket & Ostfeld 1994).

Given an ecological

urban design. Some new developments include

new strategy for dealing with complex processes

Pollak traces each entry’s submissions in terms

deeply and intricately woven within such complex

system with the potential for multiple-branching

green roofs (e.g. (Oberndorfer 2007, Baumann

over time, and one which attempts to incorporate

of their matrix. Mathru/da Cunha + Tom Leader

sites. Pollak wisely includes Corner’s statement

into various states after a loss of initial resilience,

2006, Brenneisen 2006, Kohler 2006), and

indeterminacy alongside long-phase processes.

Studio use surface, field, datum, edge, and

that the proposal “is as much about the ‘design

Sheffer (2001) states:

vegetated walls systems (e.g. Tomlinson 2011).

Pollak notes that “three out of six proposals for

zone, aligning them with five different materials

of a method of process of transformation as it

…to induce a switch back to the upper branch,

However, these developments do not necessarily

the Fresh Kills competition utilize some kind of

present at Fresh Kills. In Hargreaves proposal,

is about the design of specific places,’” (Pollak

it is not sufficient to restore the environmental

consider

mathematical matrix to represent the project,”

matrix is understood to refer to a “’mold in which

2007, p113).

conditions of before the collapse (F2). Instead,

scales, or time frames in their design, but rather

(ibid, p103).

She attributes this development

a thing is cast or shaped,” (Pollak 2007, p105).

one needs to go back further, beyond the other

comprise instances within larger (voluntary)

to the need to organize “multiple forms of

In this proposal, transformation, succession and

Matrices are one strategy that may be adapted to

define an ecosystem as: ‘‘a set of interacting

switch point (F1), where the system recovers by

planning strategies.

Likewise, many of these

documentation [that] interact dynamically,” (p99)

operation each linked to a different temporal

begin to deal with the representation of dynamic,

species and their local, non-biological environment

shifting back to the upper branch. This pattern,

strategies address a limited scope of processes

and “multiple parameters,” (p100). She proposes

structure, and comprising three environments:

interacting site processes.

functioning

in which the forward and backward switches

over time.

that a design matrix can:

Domain, Meadows, and Lake Island.

useful in developing strategies for ecological

Moll and Petit 1994).

… support the construction of a kind of unity that

Operations’ proposal is comprised of three

restoration,

and

processes provide ecosystem services that are

aggregated

ecological

processes,

occur at different critical conditions, is known as

Field

1.4 Ecological Grounding: Landscape Ecology, Adaptive Cycles, and Resilience. The ecologists Bolund and Hunhammar (1999)

urban-ecological

Matrices may be interfaces,

together

sustain

life,”

(after

Aggregated ecosystem

hysteresis (p591).

For complex sites, re-deployment of instance-

does not rely on a single vision or overarching

element sets (three matrices): threads, islands,

bioremediation of legacy contaminants.

The

defined as: ‘‘the benefits human populations

While the above hypothetical case of hysteresis

based strategies such as green roofs will not

order to manage in creative and operation terms

and mats, operating “as a strategy, a figure, and

matrix organizes, but leaves the designer free to

derive, directly or indirectly, from ecosystem

corresponds

natural

necessarily be entirely effective, and certainly

the interactions between multiple perspectives,

a device of representation,” (ibid, p107).

This

proceed from there. The matrix also allows for

functions.’’ (Costanza et al 1997). The practice

significance

are not responsive to complex site processes

scales, and types that attend the development

multiplicity of matricies avoids the abhorred

the recognition of the semantic variability within

of urban ecology, (e.g. Berry & Kasarda 1977,

A lb e r t i’s

and context. An alternative strategy for dealing

of a complex urban ecological landscape…

“slavery to oneness” (Hargreaves 2007, p171)

ecology—of terms such as resilience, adaptive

Picket et al 2008) or the study of the interface

statement of self-organizing ecological processes

with complex sites and landscapes is suggested

acknowledge the relationships between large and

even within the operation of the matrix itself,

capacity, and ecosystem services.

of ecological systems—both naturally occurring

ecosystem,

to it

disturbance

may

have

great

for urban ecosystems as well.

It may be

and anthropogenic—seek to modify current

regimes.” That is, a given landscape has a

five types of landscape patches that contribute

Mosaics, 1995.

urban design practices in order to provide a

discernible structure consisting of relatively

to the generation of the landscape mosaic within

provides a structural, relational and situational

Beyond spatial patterns, the notion of specificity

historical and contemporary fisheries in the Great

more resilient network of ecosystem services

homogenous units, often referred to by ecologists

an overall landscape matrix: spot disturbance

system

analyze

carries with it an unknowable quantity and

Lakes, perch populations in Lake Windermere,

(e.g. Alberti 2008).

The analysis of complex,

as stands, which in turn have similar “frequencies,

patch; remnant patch; environmental resource

heterogeneous landscapes.

His research has

quality of information. Recent work in systems

and vegetation structure in grassland grazing

urban and natural landscapes, their interactions

intensities, and types of individual disturbances”

patch; introduced patch; and ephemeral patch.

provided the foundation for landscape planning

theory and research in ecology has led to the

areas of the American West. The domain shift in

and interdependence is rooted in several related

(p733). This works at multiple scales and Forman

Examples of each vary within the subsequent

across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions

development of resilience thinking. Resilience is

grazed grasslands, in which cessation of grazing,

concepts, namely landscape ecology, adaptive

(1981) acknowledges that ecological principles

literature; however, their ultimate theoretical

nationwide

a multifaceted term that may be defined briefly as

after a certain point, does not result in the return

capacity, and resilience thinking. Each of these is

can be so applied, however, their applications are

classification may not be absolutely critical to the

mentioned, launched an entirely new discipline.

the ability of a system to experience intermittent

of grasslands, was observed on Stora Karlso, an

discussed below as they were primary conceptual

customarily limited in scope for pragmatically

overall landscape mosaic.

It has informed—directly or indirectly—countless

disturbance.

The measurement of resilience,

island in Sweden grazed by sheep, as well. Holling

components within DIG STUDIO.

experimental reasons.

projects since its publication.

and therefore the specificity of a certain system,

uses these cases to identify distinct domains

located geographically and ecologically, is a

of attraction in closed ecological systems.

The delineation of a

with

Forman’s

which

and

study

research and

internationally,

and,

as “domains” (p10).

These examples include

landscape, or of an ecosystem for that matter, is

Forman (1981) goes on to identify patch size,

Richard Forman largely pioneered the field of

variable, and depends upon both the goals of the

edge, shape, quantity and configuration as

An objective of studying landscape mosaics is to

current topic at the forefront of science. What

qualifying their states as “domains,” (ibid),

landscape ecology.

researcher and the spatial limits of the study. If

additional significant characteristics of patches

illuminate the underlying ecological and abiotic

follows is a history of the term resilience and a

Holling is careful to state that these theoretically

the

one is examining the relationships among micro-

that contribute to the landscape mosaic.

(geomorphic,

and

discussion of its usage in the scientific literature,

determinable models differ from actual systems,

larger landscape context in which ecological

invertebrates, the ‘ecosystem’ in which these

this set, he proposes two more features of the

promethean) processes behind their generation.

in an effort to better qualify the application of the

where indeterminacy is more prevalent, and a

disturbances and processes could be identified

are considered may be restricted to the riparian

landscape mosaic: corridors and habitations.

It is the processes that generate the mosaic, and

term within the DIG STUDIO design phase.

comprehensive analysis is often limited by data

and understood. Drawing on this work, Forman

substrate in which they live. However, this does

Corridors provide connectivity between patches.

the mosaic that signifies a certain specificity,

(1981) suggests that a “landscape’ is a distinct,

not necessarily exclude the influence of “outside”

And habitation—significantly—refers to human

a particular place.

However, specificity is

The ecologist and resilience-thinking pioneer

measurable unit with several interesting ecological

forces.

dwellings and development. He elaborates upon

subject to modification, sometimes extreme

C.S. Holling (1973) enumerates several examples

Holling (1973) goes on to identify several other

these structural principles in his 1986 book

modification, depending on land-use pressures

of major changes in landscape specificity.

systems, including the Spruce Budworm outbreaks

Landscape Ecology, and further in Landscape

and management strategies.

refers to the differing states of such landscapes

in Eastern Canada. In this example, the longevity

mosaics,

and

By introducing patches,

corridors,

described

characteristics,” comprised of “recognizable and repeated clusters of ecosystems and disturbance

In this same research, Forman (1981) identifies

atmospheric,

hydrological

availability.

ecological system organizes itself in response to

resilience, is, ultimately, a “boundary object,” a

Resilience remains in these contexts a relative

specie’s population is often indicative of the

management actions (p438).

metaphor, like sustainability or biodiversity, that

term, dependent upon desired states, time, and

overall health of the ecological system in which

allows for cross-disciplinary cooperation—i.e.

space. Measuring resilience thus reveals its own

it resides.

While Folke focuses on the operational potential

ecological, societal, and economical.

However,

challenges. Carpenter (2001) points out that a

term resilience has taken on an adaptive life of

of the term resilience in social-ecological-systems

metaphor and science do not readily coincide.

turbid body of water can be resilient to restoration

Carpenter

during outbreaks, which are in turn dependent

its own, coming to signify different conditions

(SES), Carpenter et al (2001) also states:

Therefore, the authors argue that in science, this

attempts to re-establish a clear water state,

issueswith other terms such as adaptive capacity.

upon rarely occurring dry weather conditions.

in different circumstances (Brand & Jax 2007,

Resilience has multiple levels of meaning: as a

malleability of the term undermines the capacity

citing Lake Mendota, WI, as one example.

Accordingly,

Holling summarizes that concentrating on the

Carpenter 2001, Gunderson 2000). Necessarily,

metaphor related to sustainability, as a property

of experiments and studies to measure resilience,

terms of time, certain technologies may increase

capacity is the learning trend of a system (typically

“boundaries to the domain of attraction rather

the

systems

of dynamic models, and as a measurable quantity

e.g. Carpenter et al (2001):

a population’s resilience, as in the case of the

involving governance or management) to adapt

than on equilibrium states” allows one to identify

thinking that brought about urban ecology has

that can be assessed in field studies of SES

Although the metaphorical concept of resilience

iron axe and forest clearing to produce food, but

its practices in relationship to disturbances

two types of system behavior:

led to an evolution of the term resilience. Folke

(p765).

has the power to inspire useful analyses of

result over the longer term in a decrease in overall

(Carpenter et al 2001).

One can be termed stability, which represents

et al (2002) paraphrases previous publications of

In lieu of a definitive, categorical and scientific

socioecological systems, much more insight could

system resilience after a certain point of clearing

also been referred to as the capacity of an

the ability of a system to return to an equilibrium

the term:

understanding of the term resilience, Brand & Jax

be gained from empirical analyses, which would

is achieved (Ruthenberg 1976).

Likewise, the

ecosystem to attain multiple (non-synchronous)

state after a temporary disturbance; the more

Resilience,

(2007) propose a typology for the term resilience,

require an operational, measurable concept of

measurement of resilience is often dependent

states of equilibrium (Gunderson 2000). These

rapidly it returns and the less it fluctuates, the

related to (i) the magnitude of shock that the

citing 35 years of publications, including those

resilience (p767).

upon a “surrogate,” (Carpenter 2001), in which a

two definitions reflect the construct of a SESs.

more stable it would be. But there is another

system can absorb and remain within a given

previously cited, beginning with Holling’s 1973

The authors conclude, in a similar vein to

major biotic or abiotic process or characteristic

This transmogrification of a particular signified

property, termed resilience, that is a measure of

state; (ii) the degree to which the system is

paper.

The three main categories, descriptive,

Carpenter et al (2001) that the scientific definition

is adopted as an indicator, as in the case of

condition of one term to another signified

the persistence of systems and of their ability to

capable of self-organization; and (iii) the degree to

hybrid, and normative each contain sub-categories

or descriptive signification of the term must

phosphorus, livestock densities, or land use, in

condition (descriptive to hybrid, or hybrid to

absorb change and disturbance and still maintain

which the system can build capacity for learning

corresponding to separate applications of the

be refined and limited, without the normative

fresh lake systems (ibid). This parallels the usage

normative) suggests an evolving dialogue that is

the same relationships between populations or

and adaptation. Management can destroy or

term. Brand & Jax (2007) go on to enumerate

and hybrid signification being lost to the larger

of indicator species in ecology, such as salmon or

engaging a plurality of perspectives and spanning

state variables (p14).

build resilience, depending on how the social-

and explicate these categories, concluding that

dialogue.

orca whales. The overall health of the indicator

a wide variety of traditional disciplines.

of the budworm is dependent upon the length

These preliminary hypotheses, originally

of the re-growth cycle of spruce trees between

based on theoretical models, were tested in

outbreaks. The development of spruce ensures

various other systems by Holling’s contemporaries

food for future generations of budworms, whose

(Holling 2006). Over the ensuing decades, the

reproductive capacity is exponentially increased

emergence

for

interconnected

social-ecological

systems,

al one

(2001)

illuminate

interpretation

similar adaptive

Adaptive capacity has

place

(Norgaard

2009).

Unlike

resilience

revisions.

of the retinal image, allowing the subject to see

2.0 Site

Site, Scale, and the Somatic

the world as right-side-up once again.

One of the broadest conceptions of site

In A New Angel/Angle in Architectural Research

characterized as a conceptually problematic

can be found in Heidegger’s writings, in Building,

(Frascari 1990), the architect Michael Frascari

anthropogenic, have indeterminate outcomes.

one. On the one hand, site carries with it certain

Dwelling, Thinking.

describes methods of construction that align site-

This is attributed largely to their complexity,

traditional biases such as limits, implies a

describes the horizon not as a line, but as a

lines with celestial choreographies.

in time and space (e.g. long-phase feedback

certain scope of project based on square area or

mutable, expandable space, the site of dwelling,

stance is rooted in the Neapolitan philosopher Giambattista Vico’s assertion that while intelligible

Likewise, ecosystem services is a critical term

that began as a descriptor of an ecological

with multiple interpretations that informed the

process and subsequently was transferred to

Resilience thinking, as well as landscape ecology

DIG STUDIO project. The concept of ecosystem

other metaphorical significations, ecosystem

and systems theory, emphasize that outcomes

services was developed as a metaphor in order

services began as a metaphor and later was

of ecological processes, whether natural or

to make a stronger argument for conservation of

operationalized.

natural resources (Norgaard 2009). By pointing

2.1

The

notion

site

has

often

been

Here, Heidegger (1971)

Frascari’s

out that such services were limited, the argument

This

followed that they must be conserved.

institutionalization is important as a means

loops).

However, the terms used to delineate

geography, and typically conforms to arbitrarily

the site of mind.

Norgaard (2009) provides a brief history of

to understanding the essential framing of the

the parameters within which these outcomes

determined parameters such as plat maps and

offers an exquisite explanation of site.

In his

universals do exist, they are not likely to be

this argument, focusing on the shortcomings of

cultural readings of urban ecology as a practice

may be categorized as indeterminate are also

operative concepts of property.

On the other

experiments with special spectacles, in which

Cartesian in nature. Rather, they are derivatives

socially-derived terminology, and the conceptual

and as a critical stance. Janssen (2002), a spatial

variable

ecosystem,

hand, site conjures images of Cartesian specificity,

concave lenses are mounted to spectacle frames

of the embodied experience. Akin to Ponty’s

limits that become reified by such terminology.

economist suggests it is in the realm of social

ecosystem

indeterminacy

finiteness, manageability, and a discourse of

worn by a subject, he demonstrates that the

experiment with spectacles, these universals

Since its inception, the concept of ecosystem

construction that this process can be better

through ecological and anthropogenic processes

operational and generative processes.

The

subject is clearly the originator of space. This

are common to all those with similar perceptual

services has evolved and been adapted into an

understood. He summarizes earlier models (e.g.

factors into landscape architecture in major, yet

concept of site is simultaneously erroneous and

is explicated quite clearly in Dan Hoffman’s

faculties. Frascari takes this beyond mere optical

economic model, wherein such services are

Thompson et al 1990) in his discussion of shifting

unrealized ways, the corporeal specificity of site

advantageous. The term site may also conjure

summation (Hoffman 1994) of the experiment

perception, and aligns his research with the

monetized, and their values estimated through

perspectives of nature, and the relationship

is also a crucial component.

a conceptual ground, a locale that is both

in which he describes the inverted world image

imaginative and symbolic, seeking to establish

various models or market surveys (e.g. Boyd and

of these perspectives to ecology.

immaterial yet phenomenologically perceptual.

perceived by the subject wearing the spectacles

Banzhafa 2007, Costanza et al 1997, Loomis

discussion encompasses far more than ecology,

Each has its own, inherent, specificity.

as gradually righting itself—that is, over time, the

production.

2000).

Given certain economic weighting,

it sites the discipline within a socially constructed

brain, correlating its visual perception with its

they are sometimes even traded in the market

matrix, subject to many of the same cyclical

experience of gravity, ceases its habitual inversion

social

process

transference

and

While this

(e.g.

nature,

services).

resilience, While

Merleau Ponty (1962) also

non-normative

standard

architectural

Heideger, Ponty and Frascari each demonstrate

a phenomenal quality of site, the predominance

(ibid) also cites Koolhaas’ and Frampton’s early

At Woodland cemetery, ground is clearly a critical

field. However, this shift implies a prerequisite

1896), which allows him to begin to play with

discipline of landscape architecture and its

of bodily experience in our perception, and the

calls for a turning to landscape, citing Peter

component, both conceptually and corporeally.

experiential obligation.

Without the traditional

the polemical juxtaposition of these the two

reading of site. By erasing the singular vignette

extensive, cosmological matrix in which such

Rowe’s Making a Middle Landscape (1991) as

At Mill Race Park, ground is a shifting concept

tectonic detail or component (e.g. a cast-iron

terms landskip and landschaft, and their implicit

from

experiences are had. These aspects of site are

the forerunner in the call to just public space.

that reveals not only the potential programmatic

framed bench looking out onto an Olmstedian

imagery to conjure new forms of graphical

contemporary drawing and image production

typically not considered within the sciences, but

However, the scale that these writings operate

inhabitations typical of a public park, but also

pastoral view), such perceptual experiences

representation.

This allows Corner to largely do

acknowledge the multiplicity of both physical and

figure enormously within landscape architecture.

at, and the projects they seek to validate (e.g.

the shifting states of a natural flood plain

may link the body—both conceptually and

away with the crutch of the pictorial collage, thus

conceptual vantage points within the landscape.

Fresh Kills), are developed at such scales that

landscape, inundated and revealed.

phenomenologically—to the landscape, scenically

averting the reassertion of the latent picturesque

As such, landscape representation continues to

While such texts have been celebrated in several

details are sometimes minimal.

This tendency

goes on, echoing Heidegger, to cite Bachelard’s

(landskip)

(landschaft),

in representation. In some ways, the exploration

reinforce the relationship of landscape design as a

architectural treatises (e.g. Libeskind 1992,

towards the minimization of the detail, could

explication of the attic and the cellar, as two

(after Corner 1990). Corner (ibid) explores this

of this idea, documented in Taking Measures

mirror of urban hermeneutics. That is, landscape

Perez-Gomez & Pelletier 1997), the inclusion

be perceived as a viable strategy of departure

structural and simultaneously poetic components

possibility in his collages, departing from physical

Across the American Landscape, (Corner &

has traditionally been conceived as an anti-

of the body in space has largely remained an

from modernism, such as in Van Valkenburgh’s

of the archetypal house that unify earth in sky.

descriptions

MacLean 2000) approaches Smithson’s concept

dote to urbanity. However, the incorporation of

architectural concern, seldom entering into the

larger projects. For example, compare Mill Race

Interestingly,

Bachelard

assembled perceptions of site, thereby combining

of non-site.

In so doing, Corner develops one

process-based diagrams and open-set constructs

emergent discourse of contemporary landscape

Park (Van Valkenburgh 1989-1993) to Asplund

indicates that the cellar is “an antidote to its

the contemporary mapping with the philosophical

proposition of a graphical matrix similar to that

of indefinite outcomes (landscapes) departs

theory, especially landscape urbanism (but see

& Lewerentz’s Woodland Cemetery. While both

inhabitant’s estrangement from the world” (p67),

positions of Heidegger, Ponty and Frascari

described by Pollak (2007) as “multiple forms

from this urban-mirror structure, and begins to

Coner 1999).

Writers such as Berger (2008),

feature similar topographical themes, Woodland

and perhaps a parallel may be drawn between the

discussed above.

of documentation [that] interact dynamically to

address representation of landscape in its own

Corner (2000), Czerniak and Hargreaves (2007),

cemetery contains elements at multiple scales—

absence of the tectonic detail and the revealing of

represent a site (p99). Site may be reinterpreted

right, independent of urban tropes.

and Bélanger (2009) among others, have focused

both architectural and landscape, that Mill Race

the presence of the subterranean, or earth-based

their thinking on largeness (e.g. Koolhaas). This

Park does not.

natural processes.

Dripps’

reading

Dripps

2.2

and

geographically

site

phenomenologically

Site, Scale, and Representation

primary

mode

representation,

not as a collage of images, but as a collage of interpretive techniques.

The inclusion of ecological theory in landscape

In Recovering Landscape, Corner (1999) develops

is due in part to the shortcomings of modern

the

architecture is now being projected from the

Robin Dripps (2005) in her essay “Groundwork”

Strategies of detail minimization can shift one’s

the idea of the eidetic image—an elaboration

Collage, then, can also challenge the latent

landscape back into the urban, instead of the

modernist planning (Waldheim 2006a). Waldheim

discusses the structure and materiality of ground.

perception from the tectonic to the temporal

on Bergson’s conception of image (Bergson

prevalence of the picturesque still extant in the

reverse, and is tantamount to a theoretical shift

architecture,

and

developing

critiques

that begins to erode the historical urban/natural

Cage in the 1950s and to Smithson in the 1970s.

and proportion are equated with control—

the structure, in this case, the angle of repose—

served a larger goal.

dialectic. While it has been noted that landscape

These examples serve to round out the idea of

by the artist—and a the reinforcement of

the angle at which soils may resist sliding. The

constitute a mapping of an abstract geography.

urbanism neglects a certain level of detail, it

indeterminate process separate from that of the

establishment. The informe also implies a natural

mass and composition of the asphalt possesses

They are a product of the limit of the camera

brings qualities of landscape—both conceptual

ecological sciences.

affinity for entropy—for the natural deformation

different physical properties than that of the

frame, but also a conceptual re-scaling of form.

of ideal form.

These concepts of process,

native soils. Likewise, it is also dumped from a

By mapping these assemblages of minerals

approaches as well as ecological and phenomenal

Smithson’s photographs

ones—to bear on the urban setting, often

The evolution of art from a creative act to an

including entropy, configure many of Smithson’s

tilting truck bed, which lends acceleration. Here,

(rock placements), Smithson begins to question

dissolving particular historical dialectics. This is

autonomous process required the displacement

major works.

the juxtaposition of asphalt against native soils

the conceptual limits as they function within

most clearly seen in the built works of landscape

of the creator—the subject (and thereby the

accentuates the static limit—the angle of repose—

representation, calling into question not the form,

urbanism, such as Downsview Park, and Freshkills.

object)—in order to emphasize the

process

Smithson’s Partially Buried Woodshed 1970 or

of the existing conditions, while re-temporalizing

but the presentation of that form. However, while

However, the emergence of low impact design

with which the object was brought forth. The art

Asphalt Rundown 1969, are simple but rigorous

the slow, entropic process of erosion that has

portending to exceed the physical limit of the site

strategies for stormwater management also

theoretician Rudolf Arnheim (1971) considers the

processes used to invoke entropy while negating

gradually shaped the abandoned gravel quarry

through photography (mapping), a corporeal trace

imply similar, though unexpressed, conceptual

role of process in early Dadaist art, where the

form. In the Woodshed case, collapse is hastened

into which the pour was made.

of the means of constructing the representation

renegotiations.

process superseded the product, noting Jean

through the addition of soil, piled until the limit

Arp’s paper drops of the 1920’s where controlled

is reached, and the structure fails.

While this

Smithson’s smaller works, such as his Hypothetical

distinct from Corner’s mappings (i.e. drawings),

randomness produced both affect and effect.

project contains other overtones commensurate

Continents 1969, and Mirror Displacements 1969,

in that the scales of Corner’s drawings are vast

He traces this externalization of the artist from

with historical events at that time at Kent State

raise issues of the limit as well (Smithson & Severi

enough that the body is invisible, and perhaps

The erosion of the objective, tectonic detail

the product to John Cage’s work which coupled

(where the woodshed was located), it also raises

1997).

irrelevant, in the privileged aerial vantage point.

through the emergence of subjective processes

chance and random elements with traditional

the notion of the limit.

In this work, process

limits, rather than physical or mechanical.

discussed above has several parallels in the art

artistic craft.

defines limit—an intangible but verifiable reality,

Smithson regularly documented these works

world of the mid Twentieth Century. These can

negate form all together, as in Bataille’s informe

as real as form, but formless nonetheless.

photographically. While these photographs could

be traced from the Dadaists in the 1920s through

(Bois & Kraus 1997), where symmetry, hierarchy,

Asphalt Rundown, the limit is incorporated into

transpose works into the gallery setting, they

2.3

Site, Scale, and Process

Such process-based works may

is embodied within its construction. This is quite

However, these limits are conceptual

3.0

Industrial Ecology

The DIG STUDIO project is specifically

framed around the question of industrial ecology and the fate of post-industrial landscapes. While there are wide variations among sites that may be classified as post-industrial, the contaminants within the subsurface are often derivatives of closely related industrial and chemical processing. An understanding of this chemical genealogy can contribute to a more thorough reading of both individual sites as well as the larger post-industrial landscape in which they are often set. The legacy of synthetic industrial contaminants that typically persist in an enumerable number of post-industrial sites can be traced back to the evolution of chemical engineering.

This

evolution began with the textile industry, but soon permeated every mode of production. By 1835, the steam engine and the cotton gin had both

contributed to the formation of a newly expansive

chemist William Henry Perkin, develops the first

of nitrogen (namely saltpeper from Chile) were

styrene and other polymers, and usher in the

produce kerosene for lamps and fuel for warships

textile industry in Europe and in the States. The

analine dye, based on coal tar—analine purple.

in short supply.

By 1913, BASF innovated the

advent of early plastics (BASF 2005c), and by

(ibid).

cotton gin allowed previously unprofitable strains

This discovery led to the development of an

manufacturing of ammonia, a substance rich in

1936, the first synthesized rubber, ‘Buna,’ (ibid).

British

of cotton to be processed economically, thus

entire line of analine dyes, and the development

nitrogen, by extracting N from the atmosphere,

While other products such as U46 pesticide and

German vessels had already set the stage for

leading to the generation of a new industrial-

of an industrially-based dye supply capable of

and producing 36k mT of ammonium sulfate at

Styrapor (Styrofoam packaging) were produced,

the development of the petrol industry by WWI.

agriculture landscape. The production of cotton

sustaining the burgeoning textile industry (BASF

their new, high pressure facility. After the first

by 1953 BASF was refining its own oil for the

However, naptha (gasoline) is only one byproduct

in the southern states, for example, increased

2005a). The lack of color fastness, however, led

world war, high pressure technology lead to the

production of polyethylene, one of its most

of crude oil refinement. Other products include

more than 300% between 1790 and 1835, from

to the development of other synthesized dyes,

synthesis of methanol in 1923, freeing industry

successful products.

industrial lubricants, asphalt and sulfur. Synthetic

3,000 bales to 1 million (Lemelson Center 1998),

such as Alizarin, eosin, and auramine.

And in

from the limits of tree-based alcohol. Methanol

and 75% to 85% of the cotton produced in the

1876, Henrich Caro, of BASF-- Badische Anilin-&

contributes to the production of formaldehyde

What BASF leaves out of its history, however, is

southern states was consumed by Britain or the

Soda-Fabrik—also synthesizes methylene blue,

and urea, and ultimately plywood in 1931 (BASF

the co-development of the refinery. Despite the

States (Wright, 1971).

The increase in newly

from coal tar. Subsequently, BASF also acquired

2005c).

At the same time, beginning in 1913

1907 acquisition of the Auguste Victoria coal mine

In addition to the preliminary products of

available raw cotton required the innovation of

the license to produce artificial indigo dye as well.

and ending in 1927, gasoline was synthesized

in Marl, Germany, by BASF, Bayer and AGFA, and

refinement, other petrochemicals were eventually

from coal using hydrogen and high pressure

other advances in high pressure chemistry, the

extracted through distillation or catalyzation.

The recognition of depleted soil in Europe,

technology.

Interestingly, this idea was put

US was able to out-compete Germany with more

These

Quantities of traditional organic materials used for

decried by Sir William Crookes in Britain in the

forward by the States prior to WWI, with the

advanced petroleum refinement technology. This

benzene, and xylene, which serve primarily as

fiber dying, such as madder and indigo, became

early 1900’s in his lecture ‘The Wheat Problem,’

anticipation that existing reserves of petroleum

lead to higher performing fighter planes fueled

feed stock for additional stages of production and

insufficient to supply the exponential increase in

(BASF 2005b) set in motion a new development

might soon dry up, and it has also come into the

by higher octane gasoline in WWII, (Williamson &

refinement, comprising a large list of additional

demand for dyes. Readily available substitutes

in chemical engineering.

spotlight recently with the US Military’s spending

Daum 1959), and in turn the world’s first refinery

petrochemicals and legacy toxins.

like sulfuric acid, soda ash and chlorinated lime

production had gradually eroded fertile soils

considerations and allocations.

By 1929, high

industry. However, the first refinery was not build

are employed in processing. In 1856, the British

and their nutrient base, and organic sources

pressure acetelyne was being used to derive

in the States, but in Britain, in 1862, in order to

new procedures for drying, dying, and weaving.

Conventional wheat

The performance of hydrocarbon-fueled naval

vessels

against

coal-powered

rubber was another major development stemming from the refinement process.

include

ethylene,

propylene,

4.0 Closure

While the precise relevance of each

topic or subcategory to the design-phase of DIG STUDIO has not been made entirely explicit, the ground for multiple trajectories has been established. However, certain traces are worth acknowledging here. The role of indeterminacy, in both outcome and causation was a major factor in the design phase. Nevertheless, indeterminacy

toluene,

was consistently challenged by the relevance of site components and archeology, such as buried pilings or disused railroad tracks. Likewise, there was always a tension between the exact scale of landscape (e.g. the Columbia River Basin) and the somatic experience of walking along the Willamette River’s armored banks. Representation, collage, and drawing, in the end, remained subject to projection systems, long-phase feedback loops, and process-based design, though this was not the initial intention. The literature reviewed above

suggested trajectories and intersections, as well as gaps and interstitial possibilities for DIG STUDIO.

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Infrastructure. Landscape Journal 28:p1–09.

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in Contemporary Landscape Architecture.

Parks. Princeton Architectural Press, New York.

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Princeton Architectural Press, New York.

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The Body, Landscape, and Toxic Exposures.

ECHNOLOGY & TECHNIQUES

HYTOREMEDIATION

PHYTOREMEDIATION

0.1 Intro Phytoremediation is the process of using plants to remediate

TECHNOLOGY & TECHNIQUES

ground-based contaminants within the shallow subsurface. Phytoremediation was anticipated to be a major tactical operation for DIG Studio, and as such we conducted an intensive review of

contemporary literature pertaining to phytoremediation

technology, both its biological mechanisms and its limits. Under the direction of Professor of Forest Sciences Sharon Doty, (PhD UW-SEFS) we reviewed a total of ten publications from the recent scientific literatureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;five concerning organic compounds, and four concerning heavy metalsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in an effort to more accurately inform our design process. The contaminant inventory for our selected site, The Port of Portland Superfund Site, contains over 89 different contaminants, 29 of which were identified by the EPA as having potential pathways for human contact or ingestion.

0.2

Conventional Remediation in Brief

The advent of chemical dyes in the mid-19th century, designed to accommodate the growing demand for textile processing, lead the way for high-yield catalyst reactions, high pressure technologies, and crude oil refinement. With the switch from kerosene to diesel, the refining processes gradually lead to the development of numerous hydrocarbons, petrol additives, plasticizers, and volatile organic compounds used throughout modern industry. The legacy of these processes has often been left in the ground in the form of toxic plumes, the contents of which slowly leach into ground water, or find their way to the surface through various pathways. The General Accounting Office currently lists over 425,000 brownfield sites in the US (ELI 2012) alone, and of those there are an estimated 12,000 that qualify as superfund sites, exceeding the Hazardous Ranking System of 28.5 (ICMA 2002). The numbers for European sites are even higher (Doty 2012). While the exact amount of funding spent on monitoring and clean-up is unknown, it is estimated to be between $6-$8 billion annually in the US, and over $25 billion globally (ibid).

Numerous industrially-intensive technologies have been developed to remediate such sites. Damera & Bhandari (2007) list some conventional techniques: •

Free product recovery, where leaching nonaqueous liquids

are recovered in wells or excavation trenches; •

Pump and treat, where contaminated groundwater is

pumped to the surface, treated, and re-injected into the ground; •

Soil vapor extraction, where a pressure gradient is generated

in the saturated area and volatile compounds are captured at the surface; •

Air sparging, which involves the injection of air below the

saturated area that in turn removes chemicals while it rises to the surface where it is captured; •

Ground water circulation, which employs sub-surface

circulation through several specially designed wells where the contaminant is treated through a series of screens. •

Induced fracturing and soil heating, which are often used

in conjunction with soil vapor extraction to remediate chemically saturated sites (ibid). While generally highly effective, each of these technologies involves

extensive

site-specific

data

generation,

expensive

specialized machinery and highly customized infrastructure. The

& Brar et al 2007, after Schwitzguebel et al 2005). Phytoremediation

use of such techniques explains some of the costs associated

seeks to optimize the “selective uptake capabilities of plant

with remediation processes. For example, over $22M dollars was

root systems, along with the translocation, bioaccumulation,

spent on a single site, known as McCormic & Baxter, in the Port

contaminant storage and degradation capabilities of entire plant

of Portland Superfund Area over a ten year remediation process,

systems,” (Champagne 2007 p292, after Suthersan 2002). More

leaving behind a barb-wired brownfield with continued seepage of

recent work in phytoremediation focuses on the optimization of

toxins into the Willamette River. Though this site is highly desirable

endophytic bacteria—root colonizing bacteria—to degrade ground

to nearby Portland University, the stigma of the site’s toxic legacy,

contaminants. While plants may bioaccumulate heavy metals and

together with unknown chemical pollutants, prevents the University

other toxins, selected bacteria are capable of breaking down a

from utilizing their new property. Once the pollutant sources are

variety of organic chemicals, and converting their components

removed, phytoremediation offers a low-cost technique to address

into metabolic elements useful to the host plant, such as carbon

the in-ground contaminants that remain.

and nitrogen. While these techniques require much of the same baseline data as conventional remediation techniques, they may

1.0 Organics

be refined and tested in a lab setting. Likewise, once established, plants require less minute oversight than mechanical operations.

Research over the last decade has extensivley investigated several

A literature review of current research into endophytic bacteria

alternative techniques to remediate brownfield and superfund

derived from various strains highlights some recent developments.

sites. These techniques involve the use of biological treatments including bacteria, fungus, and plants. The application of plants for remediation is known as phytoremediation, which uses plants and their associated microbiotic processes to clean soil and water (Blais

1.1

able to bioaccumulate both toxins in their root systems, preventing

RDX & TNT

the redistribution of the toxins by herbivory or other vectors.

Rylott & Budarina et al (2011) investigated the use of transgenic plants in the breakdown of two explosive compounds, often found together in detonation sites, RDX and TNT.

RDX—hexahydro-

1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine—is classified as a potential human carcinogen by the EPA and typically leaches into groundwater (ibid). While it is often readily absorbed by plants, it is rarely broken down (ibid). However, the authors indicate that several bacteria have been identified that do break down RDX. However, because RDX is often found in combination with TNT—a high phyto-toxin and human carcinogen, phytoremediation of RDX is often impossible. The authors proceeded to combine strains of the bacteria Rhodococcus rhodococcus, which is known to degrade RDX with strains of Enterbacter cloacea, a bacteria known to tolerate and detoxify TNT. Strains of the resultant bacteria were tested in the lab for their tolerance and degradation of RDX+TNT, then inserted into Arabidopsis thaliana (mouse-ear cress), a highly studied and genetically-sequenced member of the mustard family (arabidopsis.org). Soil tests with 250mg/kg TNT and RDX concentrations confirmed that the transgenic Arabidopsis were 08

However, the authors conclude that based on the limited root depth of Arabidopsis plants that perennial grass species, such as Pascopyrum smithii, Elymus trachycaulus and Agropyron fragile, might be preferred on-site for their fire resistance and tolerance of heavy machinery.

1.2

Trichloroethylene & Poplars

Weyens

and

Van

Der

Lelie

(2009)

investigated

phytoremediation of a trichloroethylene (TCE) contaminated site through an in-situ inoculation of poplars with Pseudomonas putida W619-TCE.

TCE is a volatile organic compound often

used as a solvent in manufacturing, and in PVC manufacturing, paint thinners, and sometimes household paint as well. While trichloroethylene (TCE) can be absorbed by plants, it is often subsequently evapotranspired into the ambient air by the plant. This serves to simply relocate the contamination, rather than degrade it. This is also a typical result of conventional remediation techniques such as air sparging.

The experiment employed

Populus deltoides×(Populus trichocarpa×Populus deltoides) cv

a non-competitive relationship where the inoculate may succeed

Grimminge, which were planted downstream and perpendicular to

in colonizing the rhizosphere without significant inhibition from

the TCE plume. Evapotranspiration of TCE was measured 2 years

existing native bacteria.

after planting. A selection of poplars was then inoculated with Pseudomonas putida W619-TCE, a bacteria developed through

1.3

BTEX & Poplars

horizontal gene transfer from naturally occurring and recently sequenced P. putida W619. According to the authros, P. putida

Barac and Weyens et al (2009) investigated the effectiveness of

W619 is closely related to P. putida KT2440, a recognized and safe

two poplar hybrids in the phytoremediation of a BTEX plume in

bacterial strain. Evapotranspiration of TCE in inoculated poplars

Belgium. BTEX is a petroleum distillate, and often associated

was 9 times less that of the control trees. Post-inoculation analysis

with fuel additives.

determined that other, naturally occurring endophytic bacteria—

conditions, evaporation is often restricted.

Pseudomonas and Frigoribacterium spp.—were also capable of

migrate along groundwater pathways, contaminated the water as

breaking down TCE, a function attributed to the bioaugmentation

well as the soil. As this plume was located 4-5m below grade,

of the rhizosphere with Pseudomonas putida W619-TCE, as this

poplars (and their roots) presented a viable delivery system for

capacity was not found in the noninoculated poplar samples.

BTEX-degrading bacteria. Two poplar hybrids were selected for

Notably, these native strains lost their TCE degradation capacities

planting, in part due their fungal resistance: Populus trichocarpa ×

after 20 generations of breeding in non-saturated conditions

deltoides cv. “Hoogvorst” and “Hazendans.” The trees were planted

(without TCE), indicating that they returned to their natural, pre-

reciprocally, and perpendicular to the BTEX plume migration, in

inoculated states.

This parallels similar discoveries by Barac

9 rows of 30 trees each, at 7m centers. The trees were sampled

(2009), reviewed below. Also, the horizontal gene transfer of the

at intervals, beginning 13 months after planting. It took nearly

inoculate bacteria strains to the native bacteria strains indicates

three years for the roots to reach the plume, but after they did,

While volatile, when located in subsurface BTEX plumes will

core samples indicated that the plume was receding. Additionally,

Lupine (Barac & Taghavi 2004).

The implication of both the

tissue samples of Populus trichocarpa Ă&#x2014; deltoides cv. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hoogvorstâ&#x20AC;?

above experiments is that naturally occurring endophytic bacteria

indicated that naturally occurring BTEX-degrading endophytic

do have the capacity to breakdown BTEX, they can be isolated,

bacteria had increased significantly, and that horizontal gene

grown, and re-inoculated into host plants.

transfer of toluene-degrading plasmids had occurred within the native endophytic strains of the poplar roots. Samples within the

Naphthalene is a polyaromatic hydrocarbon used in the

plume indicated a significant increase in this capacity. However,

production of plasticizers, insect repellents, pharmaceuticals

and importantly, once the plume receded (once the BTEX was

and dyes (Germaine & Keogh et al 2009).

degraded) the populations of these bacteria also receded, with

quickly in the ambient air, it does so slower when in combination

colony-forming-units (CFU) dropping to undetectable levels.

with other PAHs in sub-grade anaerobic settings. Likewise, the

While it degrades

presence of Naphthalene can prevent the phytoremediation

1.4

BTEX & Endopytic Bacteria Innoculate

of other PAHs (ibid), though this is a point of some contention (Doty 2012). Germain and Keogh et al (2009) investigated the

Moore and Barac (2006) also studied the potential for naturally

use of an endophytic bacteria inoculate (Pseudomonas putida

occurring endophytic toluene-degrading bacteria isolates to

VM1441(pNAH7) in the phytoremediation of Naphthalene. They

cultivated and re-innoculated into poplars, thereby increasing

cross-bread endophytic P. putida VM1441 with soil-based P. putida

the response time of poplar-based phytoremediation. This is of

G7(pNAH7) to produce the inoculate, and used pea plants for

concern because federal regulations often stipulate a certain time

their typically low rhizosphereic CFU characteristics as well as

frame for proof of effectiveness in alternative, non-prescriptive

their easily germinated seeds. Their findings indicate that their

clean-up measures (Doty 2012).

This study emulated similar

inoculations encouraged increased rates of both transpiration

results involving the re-inoculation of Lupinus luteus L. - Yellow

(10-40%) and degradation (40%). The inoculate also added to the

pea plantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; naphthalene resistance. Inoculated plants were able

tolerance and degradation of ATZ. They identify three distinct

to tolerate doses of naphthalene up to 100mg/kg, but at doses of

mechanisms for ATZ tolerance, and eventual degradation: genetic,

200mg/kg the cessation of germination was observed.

enzymatic and non-enzymatic. While the exact mechanics of these processes are beyond the scope of this thesis, their extensive

1.5

Atrazine & Rye Grass

analysis supports their hypothesis regarding these mechanisms, and suggests further research into the use of rye grass in the

While endophytic bacteria are often critical in the degradation of

phytoremediation of ATZ.

organic compounds, certain plants present integral mechanisms Lolium mutiflorum (rye

While endophytic bacteria contribute to the degradation of organic

grass) is one of these. It has several advantages in the breakdown

compounds such as RDX, TNT, TCE, BTEX, and some PAHs, their

of Atrazine (ATZ) in agricultural areas. It does not compete with

capacity to deal with inorganic compounds such as heavy metals

the primary crop, and it is typically used in rotation with corn,

is [negligible]. Phytoremediation of heavy metals often results

sorghum and sugar cane (Merini & Bobillo et al 2009). Likewise,

in bioaccumulation in the plant of the target metals, requiring

L. mutiflorum is capable of germinating in the presence of ATZâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a

different management strategies.

photoshynthesis-inhibiting pesticide. While ATZ is readily broken

inorganic compounds will be discussed next.

for tolerating or degrading pollutants.

The phytoremediation of

down by soil-bound microbials, the quantities in which it is often applied exceed the natural capacity of the soil and saturation

2.0 Metals

insues (ibid). Mereini and Bobillio et al (2009) studied the potential of Lolium mutiflorum for use in phytoremediation of ATZ

The phytoremediation of

in agronomic soils, and in conjunction with existing agricultural

plant processes and pathways than those required for organic

cultivation. They studied the in-plant pathways that enabled the

compounds.

heavy metals relies on different

While endophytic bacteria contribute to the

degradation of organics, heavy metals present no potential break

microbial activities within the plant root structures allow metals to

down pathways as they constitute their elemental form. Therefore,

bind with soil particles, thereby reducing their potential release into

phytoremediation of heavy metals relies on bioaccumulation—the

groundwater migration pathways; phytofiltration – phytoextraction

extraction of metals from the ground by the plants root network,

by water-based plants (Sarma 2011). While hyperaccumulators

and the storage of those metals in the plant’s tissues. Plants that

can absorb impressive quantities of localized heavy metals,

readily accumulate heavy metals are known as hyperaccumulators,

certain limitations exist. Phytoremediation is typically slower than

because they are able to accumulate and tolerate metal

conventional methods, and the target metals must be in a bio-

concentrations up to 100 times that of other plant types (Baker

available form, that is, not linked to other molecules that prevent

& McGrath et al 2000).

As a phytoremediation technique,

initial absorption (ibid). Also, water-soluble metals can pass by

bioaccumulation also requires different management strategies

the root system entirely (ibid). Additionally, metals are frequently

from organic phytoremediation, as the concentrated metals in the

found in conjunction with other metals and organic compounds

plant tissues typically require sequestration and recovery to remove

such that some metals may be toxic to certain hyperaccumulators

them from the environment completely. Generally, harvested plant

and prevent effective absorption of the target metal(s). Among

matter can be reduced to ash through combustion, which yields

the approximately 500 hyperaccumulators identified, each plant

a small quantity of metals which can be handled and transported

presents its own metal transfer factor from soil (TFS) rate (ibid).

more efficiently.

Hyperaccumulators operate through one of

The depth at which target metals are located can pose a limitation

the following mechanisms: phyoextraction – metals are absorbed

for certain types of plants, especially grasses, whose roots extend

through the roots and translocated to harvestable tissues such

only several inches below grade. Several current studies investigate

as leaves and stems; phytovolatilization – extracted metals are

the performance of different hyperaccumulators.

released into the atmosphere once they are translocated from the ground into above-ground plant tissues; phytostabilization –

2.1

Heavy Metals, Willow & Poplar

Mrnka & Kuchar et al (2011) studied the effects of endo- and ectomycorrhizal fungi inoculation on bioaccumulation in Salix alba L. and Populus nigra L. Both plans present opportunities for bioaccumulation of metals located beyond the reach of shallow root systems, and offer tolerances to multiple types of metals. The paper explored the effects of inoculation to the production of biomass and bioaccumulation of Cd, Pb, and Zn. The authors identify several beneficial attributes of both plants, namely their high biomass production, extensive root systems, their high tolerance to heavy metals, and high TFS, and identify several performance differences between each species and their innoculate counterparts.

The various permutations of host and inoculate

presented multiple results, indicating that certain combinations are more effective for certain metals (arbuscular mycorrhizal & P. nigra for Pb & Fe; and ectomycorrhizal & S. alba for Zn & Cd). Additionally, certain mycorrhizal inoculates either stunted growth or retarded bioaccumulation in either P. nigra or S. alba. While the experimentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s results were mixed, several results proved promising for continued study, however the authors acknowledge that the 18

effects of multiple relationships between mycorrhizal fungi and plant hosts, as well as substrate contamination levels are difficult to isolate.

2.2

Arsenic & Chinese Brake Fern

While multiple heavy metals are typically found in conjunction with one another in industrial areas, heavy metals are sometimes found to be singularly isolated in natural sites. Arsenic is one such metal that is can be found in association with ground water. Arsenic (As) can be found in multiple forms, including arsenate and arsenite. Because arsenate closely resembles phosphate, it is often taken up by organisms, resulting in toxicity. Ye & Khan et al (2011) investigated the potential of Pteris vittata (Chinese brake fern) to reduce the uptake of arsenate in rice grown in SE Asia. P. vittata is a recently discovered hyperaccumulator of As, first identified in 2001 (Ma & Komar et al 2001). Anaerobic soil conditions allow for the leaching of naturally occurring arsenic into ground water and recently dug irrigation wells. The authors conducted their tests in laboratory conditions, but demonstrated that P. vittata could in fact reduce arsenate absorption in rice by

pre-emptive bioaccumulation in the fern, which can absorb up to 26% of soil-based arsenic, resulting in a concentration level 10 times higher than the contaminated soil. Xie & Yan (2009) also note that arsenic removal efficiency could be enhanced by the addition of low amounts of phosphate to the soil, though they are also unclear about where, exactly, arsenate is changed to arsenite (ibid). However, the 2011 experiment also presents new questions, such as the post-phytoremediation reduction of rice grain size, and the mortality rate of other rice plants. They propose that there may be some complications due to nutrient depletion by the ferns, or from root remnants in the soil, after fern extraction, that interferes with rice plant development. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also possible that the soil itself is depleted, and that arsenate absorption by rice was compensating for an overall lack of bioavailable phosphate. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s noteworthy to also mention that P. vittata doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t readily grow in all climates, as it was trialed at one point in Puget Sound for phytoremediation of the Tacoma Smelter arsenic plume (Doty 2012).

2.3

Mercury & Rushes

Mercury is another naturally occurring heavy metal that is often found in larger isolated concentrations.

While natural sources

of mercury emissions include geologic activity and naturally enriched substrates (Marques & Lillebo et al 2011), the majority of toxic methyl-mercury pollution can be traced to fossil fuel burning, mining, and industrial activities including cement production. Marques and Lillebo et al (2011) investigated the capacity of salt water marshes to auto-remediate mercury. While their paper presented an ecosystem services-based argument for the preservation of saltwater marshes, it also elucidated some naturally occurring pathways for phytoremediation of mercury. The authors identified Juncus maritimus (sea rush) and Scripus maritimus (bulrush) as natural bioaccumulators of mercury. Their investigation revealed that mercury was typically sequestered in the roots of S. maritimus below the surface, rather than in the short-lived leaf tissues. Similar sequestration findings by others are also cited for Cd, Pb, and CU in Spartina maritima. However, the below ground Hg (rhizosediment Hg) is more dynamically exchanged, and the authors therefore conclude that J. maritimus

actually provides a higher sequestration capacity. Additionally, by

blooms typically appear at the mouths of large river systems,

concentrating the mercury in its leafs, J. maritimus allows for the

where nutrient concentrations are highest.

phytovolatization of mercury back into the natural atmosphere. Atmosphereic dilution in this case is generally considered the best

Lu and He (2010) investigated the potential of Pistia stratiotes

remedy, as low concentrations of mercury are found in existing

(water lettuce) to phyoremediate phosphorus in marine harbors.

natural cycles. However, exposure to UV light can result in the

While potentially highly invasive, in certain settings, their 2

conversion of elemental mercury to ionci-mercury, preparing

year study suggest that moderate improvements were possible

it again to renter the environment. This suggests that carefully

(between 7-51% reductions in nutrient levels). A similar, but much

harvesting a portion of the total fronds of degenerating J. marimus

shorter study, investigated Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth)

may provide a way to sequester mercury and may be one way to

as a potential phytoremediator of N and P in fresh water systems

remove excess from the environment.

(*source*). Like water lettuce, it is also highly invasive, and requires a high nutrient load to flourish, but under such conditions, it can

2.4

Excess Nutrients

double its biomass in 6-15 days. While shorter, the experiment provided similar, though less certain results. However, due to the

Lastly, excess nutrient run off has been shown to be the cause of

highly invasive potential of both plants, it may be best to consider

eutrophication in over 400 systems across the globe. Nitrogen

more locally adapted, native plants for phytoremediation of excess

and phosphorus are readily applied as fertilizers in industrial

nutrients, or on-site treatment and BMPs at agricultural sites.

agriculture, and have been identified as the source for over 245,000 sq km of algal blooms.

These blooms occur mostly

along the eastern seaboard and coastal Europe, though they are beginning to appear around Africa as well (NASA 2012). These

is also noteworthy that specific species of plants may be well

3.0 Conclusion

adapted to certain geographical locations, and mal-adapted to

In both organic and inorganic phytoremediation, the applicability of specific plants, or special cultivated varieties of each plant, are extremely specific to the target toxin.

While some plants

may phytoremediate certain substances, other chemicals often found in conjunction with the target substance may interfere with phytoremediation, and produce results not predicted by laboratorybased testing. Field testing may also include other unforeseen variables such as native micro-organisms that may compete with endophytic and mycorrhizal innoculations, thereby reducing the efficacy of such treatments.

Likewise, bioaccumulation,

sequestration, or degradation processes are not only different for each plant, but often benefit from precise, yet preliminary research into the production of appropriate micro-organism inoculates. The development of inoculates and the combination with host plants presents a wide field of variability, complicating the potential for initial full-scale success rates. At the same time, polluted sites often contain desirable partnerships between host plants and micro-organisms already adapted to specific toxins, and are readily being further optimized for phytoremediation. It 24

others. Or worse, they may be invasives.

The costs for phytoremediation are often several orders of

magnitude less than conventional remediation techniques. However, regulations often place an untenable burden on phytoremediation by requiring proof-of-efficacy within 3 years. This time limit is one of the main drivers behind current research to improve the efficiency of phytoremediation. This drive may also, inadvertently, lead to the creation of undesirable GMO strains, though these strains may not outlive natural species once their toxic nutrient sources are depleted. In the end, phytoremediation remains an extremely compelling alternative to conventional techniques as it awaits further successes in field trials.

4.0

Design Implications

DIG studio employed several of the techniques discussed

here, and made provisions for the inclusion of others based on the literature. The array of contaminants present at the Port of Portland Superfund Site greatly exceeds the capacity of the literature.

However, pending further developments in biotechnology and phytroremediation, many of the techniques discussed above may be adapted to new hybrid species or different inoculates. At the McCormic & Baxter site. Many of the legacy contaminants within the larger Superfund Site fall into larger categories of chemical families that may be treated with similar techniques. However, as noted above, the presence of some chemicals can initially hinder the phytoremediation of others. This implies a mixed approach that utilizes both conventional and alternative methods for remediation of contaminants. These are both included in DIGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tactical archive.

Germaine, K.J., Keogh, E., et al (2009). Bacterial endophyte-mediated naphthalene phytoprotection and phytoremediation. FEMS Microbio Lett 296, pp 226-234.

Literature Cited Barac, T., Weyens, N., et al (2009). Field Note: Hydraulic Containment of a BTEX Plume Using Poplar Trees. International Journal of Phytoremediation, 11:416-424. Barac, T., Taghavi, S., et al (2004). Engineered endophytic bacteria improve phytoremediation of water-soluble, volatile, organic pollutants. Nature Biotechnology v22n5 May. Baker A.J.M., McGrath S.P.et al (2000) Metal hyperaccumulator plants: a review of the ecology and physiology of a biological resource for phytoremediation of metal polluted soils. In: Terry N., Banuelos G.S. (Eds), Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soil and Water. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp 85â&#x20AC;&#x201C;107. Bhandari, A., Surampalli, R.Y., et al, ed (2007); Remediation Technologies for Soils and Groundwater. American Society of Civil Engineers. Blais, J.F., Brar, S.K., et al (2007). Metal Removal, in Bhandari, A., Surampalli, R.Y., et al, ed (2007); Remediation Technologies for Soils and Groundwater. American Society of Civil Engineers. Champagne, P. (2007). Phytoremediation, in Bhandari, A., Surampalli, R.Y., et al, ed (2007); Remediation Technologies for Soils and Groundwater. American Society of Civil Engineers. Damera, R. & Bhandari, A., (2007). Physical Treatment Technologies, in Bhandari, A., Surampalli, R.Y., et al, ed (2007); Remediation Technologies for Soils and Groundwater. American Society of Civil Engineers. Doty, S. 2012. Class lecture, Jan 4th- Mar 14th. ELI, 2012. Environmental Law Institute, Brownfields Center. http://www.brownfieldscenter.org/big/faq.shtml

ICMA 2002. Brownfields Redevelopment: A Guidebook for Local Governments and Communitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Second Edition. International City/County Mangement Association, Superfund/Brownfield Research Institute. Libor, M., Kuchar, M., et al (2011). Effects of Endo- and Ectomycorrhizal Fungi on Physiological Parameters and Heavy Metals Accumulation of Two Species from the Family Salicaceae. Water Air Soil Pollut 223:39-410. Lu, Q., He, Z.L., et al (2010). Phytoremediation to remove nutrients and improve eutrophic stormwaters using water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes L.). Enviro Sci Pollut Res, 17:84-96. Ma, L. Q.; Komar, K. M. et al (2001). A fern that hyperaccumulates arsenic: a hardy, versatile, fast-growing plant helps to remove arsenic from contaminated soils. Nature 2001, 409, 579. Marques, B., Lillebo, A.I.., et al (2011). Mercury cycling and dwquestration in salt marsh sediements: An ecosystem service provided by Juncus martiums and Scirpus maitimus. Environmental Pollution 159, pps 1869-1876. Mereini, L.J., Bobillo, C., et al (2009). Phytoremediation potential of the novel atrazine tolerant Lolium multiflorum and studies on the mechanisms involved. Environmental Pollution 157, pp3059-3063. Moore, F.P., Barac, T., et al (2006). Endoophytic Bacterial Diversity in Poplar Trees Growing on a BTEX-contaiminated Site: The Characterization of Isolates with Potential to Enhance Phytroremediation. Systematic and Applied Microbiology, 29, pp539-556. NASA, (2012). http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov Rylott, E.L., Budarina, M.V., et al, (2011). Engineering Plants for the Phytoremedia-

tion of RDX in the Presence of the Co-contaminating explosive TNT. New Phytologist 192:405-413. Sarma, H., (2011). Metal Hyperaccumulation in Plants: A Review Focusing on Phytoremediation Technology. Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 4(2): 118-138. Weyens, N., Van Der Lelie, D., et al (2009). Endophytic Bacteria Improves Contaminant Fate in Phytoremediation. Environ Sci Tehcnol 43, pp9413-9418. Xie, Q.E, Yan, X.L., et al (2009). The Arsenic Hyperaccumulator Fern Pteris vittata L. Envrionmental Science & Technology, v43n22, pps 8488-8495. Ye, W., Kahn, K.M., et al (2011). Phytoremediation of arsenic contaminated paddy soils with Pteris vittata markedly reduces arsenic uptake by rice. Environmental Pollution 159, pps 3739-3743.

ESTABLISHING A NEW METHODOLOGY

METHOD

The Challenge

A new process & approach

DIG STUDIO seeks to establish a methodology for

ENGAGING ENTROPY

methodology

and

our

critique

traditional

utilizing entropy as a design tactic. DIG STUDIO

Key characteristics of industrially-modified sites

in general, misunderstood and ignored entropic

remediation methods. Discussion lead to further

began with the premise that design needed new

include degraded maintenance regimes, entropic

systems.

critiques of how we currently define health and

approaches to create healthier landscapes, people

boundaries, and migrating plumes. DIG STUDIO is

and ecologies. Ultimately, this project proposes

particularly interested in patch dynamics of such

Entropy is inherent in our urban and ecological

Health is the combined effects of successive,

new design tactics that engage entropic processes,

sites, such as the interface with industrially modified

systems, our futures are dynamic and indeterminate.

evolving, and indeterminate landscape processes and

incorporates indeterminate outcomes, and allows

sites with multiple urban scalars—social structure

Here, we discover a correlation between entropy and

management strategies on human well being.

for evolving autonomous and informal ecologies.

of cities and their surroundings, direct relations

health. Design strategies and architectures overlook

to adjacent neighborhoods, as well as personal

entropy, often operating under the contrived notion

Furthermore, this definition and discussion of health

interactions with site.

of static outcomes and complete control of systems.

lead to further critiques of current remediation

As described in AXIOM, DIG STUDIO problematized

THE METHOD

(how can I not get sued?), dramatic conditions and

resulted in the following:

adjacent terms, such as toxic or post-industrial,

models that rely on quick “fixes” and the landfilling

that referenced irregular and uncertain conditions

The grounding investigations and questions at the

In contrast, DIG STUDIO asserts that it is

within the contemporary landscape. The term

core of this project sought to understand the health

advantageous to engage entropy as a systemic

industrially-modified site is used to describe

implications of design as well challenge traditional

approach

those {sites} characterized by instances of “other”

design frameworks by addressing site complexity via

understand that designs can be insufficient, that

where

the embrace of entropy.

they can falter, or even fail; we are designing for that

conventional

ecological

disturbances

have been coupled with industrial disturbances, producing

new

ecologies,

nurturing

healthier

spaces.

of contaminated soil.

Current Remediation Models

potential failure. These insufficiencies and failures

Traditional or conventional “remediation” methods,

indeterminate

Moreover, initial research problemetized the mere

are opportunities for ecological and social health.

such as excavation via removal of millions of tons of

boundaries and unreferenced geographies, often

use of the word “health.” Health is especially

Before

process,

soil, capping and air sparging) are extremely invasive,

resulting in noxious, insalubrious economic and

difficult to define in industrially-modified sites due

Leann Andrews urged DIG STUDIO to create a

costly and often are ineffective— toxins are often

social epidemics.

to community perceptions, regulatory requirements

formal definition of health in context of this new

relocated to politically and economically poorer

launching

into

the

design

Asarco Smelter, Tacoma, WA, 2011. The site has been heavily excavated, leaving little trace of the former industry once vital to the waterfront. The construction of condominiums can be seen far lett.

The How: Entropy As Design Tactic

Self Organizing Systems [Stigmergy]

neighborhoods, “contained” (i.e. contaminants

popular in that brownfields are “remediated”

are dumped into a landfill or left within the soil

and “rehabilitated” as parks via experimental

under a clay cap). (NOTE: For a more in depth

bioremediation techniques (see precedents section

Entropy as design tactic is not just an exploration,

discussion of

current remediation practices,

of Haag’s Gas Works Park or Latz’s Duisburg-

but rather a critical & philosophical stance: a

Stigmergy is thought by many to be the principal

reference PHYTO PRIMER and/ or McCORMICK &

Nord). In this model, a site’s contaminated soil

way to move toward healthier spaces. In utilizing

mechanism

BAXTER).

may not be trucked to a landfill, the design

entropy as a an essential and core design tactic,

structures can arise “from the bottom up”, that is,

instead often utilizes an eighteen inch clay cap.

DIG STUDIO acknowledges what we don’t know,

through self-organized behavior of multitudinous

Current policies embraced by the EPA and

DIG STUDIO posits that industry or productive

while

traditional

agents that themselves have no conception of what

associated

enforce

place is vital to economic health. Furthermore,

conventions of shaping space as a basis for

they are building. As such, stigmergy is one of the

expediated timeline regulations for the remediation

these models promote ecological amnesia in

design. We engage concepts of duration, what

foundation stones for an atomist philosophy of

that the most users are ignorant of the active

DIG STUDIO views as “past scripts scores,”

biology: all the complex and wonderful contrivances

processes and slow seep of toxins in the ground

acknowledging that there are no static moments.

of the living world are explainable by the low-level

governmental

regulators

of contaminated sites (generally three years) that for

create

impossible

non-traditional

remediation

efforts

and

new such

barriers technological as

processes

and

remediation

efforts

to,

literally, take root. For further information on phytoremediation PRIMER.

research,

Particular

reference

conventional

following:

PHYTO methods

emphasize “Cut. Cover, Hide,” (such as at the Tacoma Asarco Smelter Site, page 03) which is

challenging

that is taking place underfoot. DIG STUDIO’s work

phyto/

bioremediation that require at least four years for

a typical remediation recipe that relies on the

simultaneously

1. “Removal” of toxins 2. Cap the remainder 3. Bake for several decades 4. Build condos 5. Address failed cap and infrastructure 6. Mitigate health impacts A newer, more experimental model has become

[Above] Gasworks, Seattle, WA [date unknown]. The activated burners were photographed by Landscape Architect Richard Haag before the site was stripped of most of its infrastructure. [Left] Gasworks reactivated and recalibrated as “Park”. Kite Hill contains the worst of the site’s contaminated soil.

whereby

complex

and

coherent

interaction of “atoms”, autonomous and indivisible

seeks to push the boundaries of Haag’s work

Entropy is employed as a means to chart

units that interact according to a discernible and

by promoting social, ecological and industrial

indeterminate

limited set of rules.

overlap through a combination of remediation

Transitioning industries and infrastructures have

tactics, technologies and programming.

the potential to generate & organize ecological &

and

contaminated

spaces.

social variety through the recruitment of, among other

processes, entropy. Entropy is a self-

organizing system.

—Scott Turner, Syracuse University

A sandbox is filled half with black sand and half with white sand. A little boy starts running in the sandbox. As he runs he kicks up and mixes the sand. When told to reverse his direction this does nothing to undo the actions of entropy driving the system towards uniformity. Robert Smithson’s definition of entropy in “Monuments of Passaic”

Header

Intersections

Sub-header

Artists have explored entropy as a means to explain and experience the world for much of the last century. In the early 20th Century, artists such as Kurt Schwitters, Marcel Duchamp, and Jean Arp in the 1920’s directly used entropy and methods of randomness within their projects. More recently artists such as John Cage and Robert Smithson have challenged and pushed ideas of what entropy might reveal about our world and ourselves. DIG STUDIO investigated particular artists whose work intersected with our own (i.e. John Cage, Ed Ruscha, Gordon Matta-Clark, and Robert Smithson to name just a few. For a more in depth discussion of artists, graph theory and music theory, please reference LITERATURE). John Cage was a composer

John Cage Music of Changes, 1951

Ruscha, Parking Lot #9, 1967

Clark, Splitting 1974

Smithson “Partially Buried Woodshed,” 1970

in the middle of the last century. He used chance operations as a method to exploit entropy as a means to distance the artist from egocentrism

as well as create a frame for outcomes that were

Gordon

uncontrolled by the artist. “Music of Changes” was

Matta-Clark

and

Robert

Smithson

ecologist and resilience-thinking

two types of system behavior: One can be termed

investigated the inherent failure of architecture over

pioneer C.S. Holling (1973) played an integral

stability that represents the ability of a system to

one of Cage’s first pieces in which he composed

time by showing its ephemerality. In Matta-Clark’s

role in our design and general understanding of

return to an equilibrium state after a temporary

the whole work using the I-Ching to determine

piece “Splitting,” a house slated for demolition

entropy. As discussed in LITERATURE, Holling

disturbance; the more rapidly it returns and the

the composition. Through the use of the I-Ching,

is split in two. Through this splitting, Matta-Clark

referred to the differing states of landscapes

less it fluctuates, the more stable it would be. But

Cage formed a musical composition via controlled

emphasizes the temporality of the building itself.

as “domains” (p10). These examples include

there is another property termed resilience that

randomness.

To Matta-Clark all architecture is a failure. Rather

historical and contemporary fisheries in the Great

is a measure of the persistence of systems and

than attempt to undermine this fact he chose to

Lakes, perch populations in Lake Windermere, and

of their ability to absorb change and disturbance

frame it in his art by emphasizing a structures end.

vegetation structure in grassland grazing areas of

and still maintain the same relationships between

the American West. Holling uses these cases to

populations or state variables (p14).

Ed Ruscha viewed entropy in the world all around

the work of

us, but especially in the urban landscape. Through his work, Ruscha attempted to capture the nature

Similarly, Smithson’s work reveals that everything

identify distinct domains of attraction in closed

of urban spaces that fall apart without intense

decays in time. In “Partially Buried Woodshed,” dirt

ecological systems. By qualifying their states as

DIG STUDIO also looked at the work of Chris Reed’s

maintenance regimes to keep everything in place.

was poured over a small structure until the roof

“domains,” (ibid), Holling is careful to state that

StossLU and his use of scaffolds within the design

In his series of aerial photographs of parking lots

caved in and the building collapsed. Smithson’s

these theoretically determinable models differ

process and how these might be used to generate

in Los Angeles, Ruscha captured not only the decay

piece sought to frame the limits within architecture,

from actual systems, where indeterminacy is more

form. StossLU’s Somerville Eco-Lab Demonstration

of these spaces, but also the necessity of these

with respect to both the physical structural system

prevalent, and a comprehensive analysis is often

Project is a prime example of how an initial scaffold

regimes. In “Lot #9,” the parking lots are clearly

as well as the systems that sustain it.

limited by data availability.

(a series of slopes and hills) combined with entropy

a collection of intense oil spots. Patterns of usage

(natural conditions such as rain and wind) could

and decay are made visible as well as their possible

In addition, theoretical landscape ecology models

Holling summarizes that concentrating on the

be used to spread seeds and examine bloom

future within abandoned businesses.

and design precedents from the past decade

“boundaries to the domain of attraction rather

cycles. The project is essentially a field test and

than on equilibrium states” allows one to identify

research study of successional and adaptive design

played a major role in our research. In particular,

(Above) Holling, 1970. (Below) rs.resalliance.org

The dream of architecture is to escape entropy... Entropy is the repressed condition of architecture.

strategies on an underutilized urban hillside. Stoss’s

+ 1,000 pathways + destination and dispersal +

Competition (New York, New York) presented

primary goal was to “test and seed a self-sustaining

sacrifice and safe = low-density metropolitan life.”

new forms of graphical representation that were

landscape using available stormwater and an

The proposal was an abstract diagram, similar to

either extremely spatial or struggled with temporal

understanding of inherent plant mechanisms (seed

Georges Seurat’s paintings, based on the circular

implications of dynamic landscapes. The premise

dispersal, dormancy, etc.)... Plants will colonize the

canopy of a tree and was extremely graphic due in

site and, potentially, nearby lots over a number of

large part to a partnership with Bruce Mao Studio.

graphics and models by various artists, composers

years, thus instigating an ecological transformation

Robert Smithson

in the city” (Lee 59).

StoSS LU, Eco-Lab, Somerville, MA. Tschumi notations.

DIG

STUDIO’s

examination

drawings,

and architects such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, The proposal, instead of prescribing a set of fixed

George Crumb, Anuradha Mathur/Dilip da Cunha

elements used in traditional masterplans, set out

and Bernard Tschumi (to name just a few) was to

DIG STUDIO is also a response to frameworks that

a range of opportunities that would evolve and

define and approach a communication style that

primarily began to emerge in competitions such as

shift over time. Ultimately, translating the abstract

was simultaneously spatial and temporal.

Freshkills and Downsview. DIG STUDIO used the five

diagram into a tangible space and successful urban

finalist entries from the Downsview Competition to

park proved too great a challenge. Mao dropped out

DIG STUDIO examined work by Architect Bernard

illuminate and prime reviewers as to what we were

of the project and the final constructed design fell

Tschumi’s Manhattan Transcipts and his Parc de la

trying to accomplish and avoid. The five finalist

back into static, well-tread masterplan techniques.

Villette Competition entry, perhaps most drawn to

entries for Downsview had much in common in

DIG STUDIO’s project is thus a challenge to and a

his grid of red follies (see barge follies McCORMICK

that they presented a configuration of frameworks

critique of the masterplan process.

& BAXTER), which are prominent in the Parc de la

that shape the park, but generate and recalibrate

Villette scheme. These works and notations begin

for growth over time. OMA’s winning proposal, TREE CITY, is more a formula than a design: “grow the park + manufacture nature + curate culture

Tschumi, Manhattan Transcripts.

Three of the five Downsview Competition Finalists ([OMA, Field Ops, Tschumi, FOA, B+SA ]

Moreover, representation in the famous Parc de

to describe sets of divergent occurrences and

la Villette (Paris, France) Competition, Downsview

cinematic mutations of space (physical and aural)

Competition (Toronto, Canada) and the Freshkills

with time signatures.

Stockhausen, Elektronische StudieIl.

Precedent Gas Works Park

site—that on-going remediation and public use

has left certain totems trapped behind a fence.

can and should be employed simultaniously, opened the public and the landscape profession’s

Rich Haag’s vision for Seattle’s gas works as a

Haag’s revolutionary—and thus cotroversial—

eyes to new ways of engaging the landscape via

new type of public park, offered an alternative

stance in addressing the challenges of a toxic

practice and design.

reading of a toxic post-industrial landscape in the city.

Gas Works Park (1972 masterplan,

1978 completion) is one of the earliest toxic industrial

sites to be remediated in order

to become a public space. Perhaps most importantly, it was the first public space to demonstrate nascent experimental techniques of phytoremediation and bio-remediation in the

FLUID TOPOGRAPHIES

early 1960s and 1970s.

CLAY CAP ASH & CINDER SAND SILT & GRAVEL SAND SILT & GRAVEL

Gas Works Park is the last remaining survivor of

GLACIAL TILL



1906 CONFIGURATION



1400 gasification plants in the United States.

Richard Haag

members of an extinct species. The last decade

SEATTLE GAS LIGHT SERVICE RADIUS

New eyes for old... Permanent oil slicks became plains with outcroppings of concrete, industrial middens were drumlins, the towers were ferro-forests and their brooding presence became the most sacred of symbols.

BIOREMEDIATION 101

 TAR WELL

= =

Much of the plant’s infrastructure was removed

enzyme PAHs

(images, right); however, the remaining relics (such as the burners of the former Gas Plant serve as totemic artifacts; the last surviving

(Top to Bottom) botanical, fragment, context.

Gas Works Park, Thick Section (temporal and spatial qualities collide to convey historical, industrial, ecological and social qualities of site. Rendering by Tera Hatfield.

For an industrial ruin to maintain that history while constructing new use and meaning — this is what I call the sublime.” Julie Bargmann, Terragram Dispatch Nº1

Precedent Vintondale Reclamation Park

Stacy Levy, artist; T. Allan Comp, historian and director of non-profit AMD & ART; Robert Deason, work of transforming 40 acres of former coal mine whose grounds and on-site water were thoroughly

mining pollutant as an opportunity to transform

finishing in 2000. The final site intermingles wetland

makes the important statement that “Environmental

an industrial wasteland into an abundant

ecology, industrial mine artifacts, spaces of leisure and

problems are created and defined not by science, but

landscape, a renewed place.

didactic treatments systems that create new forms and

by our culture.” Comp states that, in effect, they are

In 1995, Julie Bargmann and collaborators (including

hydrogeologist; and AmeriCorp Interns) began the

“Designing the Reclaimed Landscape,” T. Alan Comp

The entire process is depicted in a series of six etched metal panels, from site history and context to design interventions and treatment.

contaminated with acid mine drainage (AMD) (DIRT

2008). Local ecosystems and watersheds are

Studio 2010). Collaborator Alan T. Comp cites the

devastated due to coated stream beds that effectively

community engagement efforts as a crucial component

kill all organisms by raising the acidity levels of the

for the success of the project (Comp 2008).

water to an intolerable degree (AMD & ART 2010). Since the coal and steel mines of the area were

cultural artifacts, and effective remediation depends

TESTING

on one’s ability to address the problems “with the

combining expertise in science, history, art, and

full range of the arts and humanities, as well as the

design toward the synthetic creation of a complex

sciences” (Comp 2008, 63).

landscape. Working with residents and citizen

The Vintondale Reclamation Park is perhaps a

groups, local governments, state and federal

prototypical case study because the design clearly

In a special issue of Landscape Architecture on Eco-

agencies as a model for other communities to

uses the on-site layers of accumulated toxicity, history,

Revelatory Design, Julie Bargmann and Stacy Levy

initiate the reclamation process.

and meaning in a dynamic manner that works to

the

interdisciplinary

process

don’t so much write a review of their work at Vintondale

a series of six etched metal panels, from site history and context to design interventions and treatment.

simultaneously hold complexity and conflict in view

as issue a set of rules and criteria used to reclaim the

TESTING the acidic mine discharges and using

while presenting a new notion of beauty that is ever

site. Bargmann and Levy stress Comp’s important

industrial-strength, bioengineered systems to

changing and supportive of public engagement. The

points about community and reclamation under the

cleanse the water. Inviting the public to witness

collaborators seem to have succeeded in giving legible

modus of “TESTING”:

this treatment process, offering an understanding

form to ecological and industrial processes, mixing

of how they can actively participate in the

these with spaces for play, recreation and delight that

regeneration of

are accepted and embraced by the community. Perhaps

The tell tale rust colored streams tainted with AMD

closed after WWII, the local community of Vintondale

are abundant in the Appalachian coal country. AMD

has dealt with significant poverty and decreases in

is created by a chemical reaction when rainwater and

population due to lack of employment. In addition

TESTING the endeavor to reclaim an industrial

groundwater mingle “with abandoned mine workings”

to these social issues, the environmental problems

landscape

(Bargmann 1998, 39). The reaction results in an

spurred by the area’s mining history have persisted

acidic, metal concoction that seeps into neighboring

and accumulated over time to rob citizens of potable

community. Seizing the crisis caused by a post-

water sources, coating them in oxified iron (Comp

water and valuable recreational opportunities. In

definitions of beauty. The entire process is depicted in

contaminated

regenerative ecology

and

catalyst a

for

declining

their landscape and their

what is missing is a formal engagement with not only

community.

the ecological and social health of the community, but The design was completed in 1998 with construction

also an economic engagement in its recovery as well.

Nature depends on technology; technology depends on nature. The park’s entire water system is a planned ecology.

Precedent Duisburg-Nord Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord

Landschaftspark

post-

industrial reclamation project on 180 hectares, located outside Dusseldorf in the industrial belt of the Rurh Valley, in Northern Germany. Latz and Partners began the design work around 1990, after residents prevented the razing of the steel mill after it shut down in 1985. As the facility had

Peter Latz

been abandoned for sometime before any plans could be implemented, nature had already began taking back the park. preservation

Latz’s design combines

architecture,

reclamation,

and

incidental phytoremediation alongside assorted

remediated (such as the stripping of accessible

Documenting such an enormous site is quite

electrical fixtures) or cordoned off; the existing

challenging, but after reviewing both sketches and

successional growth was documented and allowed

photos, several categories emerge: botanicals;

to proceed; architectural features were adapted

context; fragments; passages; and relics; each

to new uses, which included renovation and

having their own sense of scale and framing–both

demolition; demolition of selected architectural

temporal and spatial. The botanical category

constructs permitted their foundations to join

focuses on some of the minute details of singular

the landscape matrix; procession through the

vegetative growth within the park. Context depicts

industrial relics was choreographed to permit

the surrounding area. Fragments present portions

access to certain objects; new walkways were

of the park that convey the gestalt of the whole.

combined with existing circulation to create a

Passages address the syntax of circulation, both

woven route through the site; selected cells within

new and adapted.

the foundry were planted in the style of a classical

large industrial assemblage that constitutes

landscape in rhetorical configurations; and many

the core identity of the park, its history, and its

objects were modified or repurposed for new

iconography.

And relics documents the

programs, such as a garden, a climbing gym, or

landscape tropes. The park permits a new mode

a slide that echoes the extensive steel duct work

of inhabitation of a once brutal landscape and

that characterizes the site.

infrastructure.

Likewise, existing

growth was augmented with additional plantings, such as betula pendula and other plants that

Latz’s design included many low-impact design strategies: hazardous conditions were either

(Top to Bottom) botanical, fragment, context.

colonize disturbed sites.

Varied passages.

HOTSPOT: GAME BEGINS HERE

archive {set a1} offers a set of initial instructions

intrinsic entropic forces within the design

and processes for the Willamette River’s industrial

process and ecological interventions. Scripts

edge. Many of our initial scripts were written for

(or sets of scripts called scores) are a sequence

biological and phytoremediation of contaminated

of instructions that can be interpreted and

soils, and groundwater; however, as the writing

carried out. This definition originates from the

process evolved, biological and technological

etymology of script as simply “the dialogue

agents

and

and instructions for a play, musical or other

temporal forms that work with the various edge

performance work” as well as “to scratch an

conditions (fallow, transitional, industrial).

outline, sketch, from base ‘sker-’ cut, incise.”

THE METHOD

Here, we divorce scripting from modern usage

1. Overlay the gameboard (hexagonal tesselation)

and

2. Examine script archive/ in process scripts & scores

and parametric modeling programs such as

3. Write scripts

Grasshopper, Maya and Python, that employ

commingle

create

scaffolds

> individual scripts are initially written based

Downtown Portland

associations

with

digital

computation

iterative computational geometry to “generate”

on chemical plumes present in the river,

formal, finite architectural designs. This latter

in sediment/soil, & in groundwater (hotpots)

computational

C H

C C

IMPAIRMENT [E.G BENEZENE]

R E M E DI A T OR

RESULTANT

scripts by-product of in-process scripts > initial program and performance [RECIPE FOR EXPERIENCE] TECHNOLOGY A.

1. O I L

4. Run script(s)

employed by Cecil Balmond and Jenny Sabin at

3. B-TEX

> programming and spatial form arise from

University of Pennsylvania’s Nonlinear Systems Organization research group.

2. PAHs

strategy

[INITIAL PERFORMANCE]

heavily

scripting tactics when compounded along a time axis

design

GENERAL SCRIPT

TECHNOLOGY B.

4. PHTHALATES

USER INTERFACE

BRACE [THE GAMEBOARD]

Scripts are a design tactic utilized to embrace

RAIL CONSTANT

TACTICS

INDUSTRIAL PORT OF PORTLAND : //

The Method

As introduced in the SCRIPT SET, the script

While we find these alternative and experimental digital

strategies

interesting,

DIG

STUDIO’s

investigation and embrace of entropy seeks to challenge the notion of the static masterplan. Parametric modeling, despite its complex and often

chemical components of both living organisms

scripts

and harmful chemicals. In this sense, hexagons

by-product of in-process scripts > performance> charting indeterminacy VARIABLE SITE RESULTANTS

watershed scale. In addition, DIG STUDIO chose the hexagon as a rhetorical device because it

curved results, is merely another strategy focused

VARIABLE SITE RESULTANTS

work as a perfect scalar on a molecular, plume or

H H

reveals the arbitrary and static boundaries, both H

that results in a static structure or landscape. In contrast, scripts are designed processes (both engineered and “natural”) that are inserted into and onto specific site surfaces, geology and ecology. As a result, scripts have often unpredictable by-products,

economic and political, that are used to govern

C C

fluctuating and dynamic systems within our urban

C H

T R A JECT O R Y

landscapes. Hexagons are a wink and a nudge. As

on an end product that fails to adapt and change,

C C

RAIL

ORGINAL REMEDIATION SCRIPT

Elizabeth Meyer states, “Toxicity flows,” it knows

no boundaries.

ORIGINAL REMEDIATION SCRIPT

which is how we are seeking to chart indeterminacy.

IVE

(six sided, composed of triangles) that make it

G HIN NC BR A

CH E

What the Hex?

reasons. Hexagons have mathematical properties

mutations. In addition, scripts engage critical user

signifying a hotspot or insertion point for various LL CO

indeterminacies while allowing for adaptations and

SWARM

CA L

with a hexagonal gameboard with one hexagon

landscape. Scripts are in a continual state of flux.

O FL

the point of insertion. Scripts narrow the range of

IZO

a conscious choice. DIG STUDIO chose to work

basis in turn shapes process scripts such as the

AGGREGATE

uniquely suited as a building block. Moreover,

users, creating engaged, healthy spaces. How users

hexagons are also found in nature as base structural CK

The repetition of hexagons within this work is

interact and experience these processes on a daily

PRESENT INSERTED SCRIPT

POSSIBLE FUTURES

TEMPORAL ANALOG OF THE FUTURE [UNBRACKETED] 360° POSSIBILITIES

TEMPORAL ANALOG OF THE FUTURE [BRACKETED] CONAL POSSIBILITIES

WHAT THE HEX?

Scripts result in directed trajectories, marked from

interface issues. Scripts interact and perform for

PRESENT NO SCRIPT

SCRIPTING BASICS & OPEN SOURCE

SCRIPT ARCHIVE

THE ARCHIVE

INTRODUCTION

SCRIPT ARCHIVE

Basics

As introduced in the methodology section of Scripting

digital

101, scripts are a design tactic utilized to embrace

investigation and embrace of entropy seeks to

intrinsic entropic forces within the design process

challenge the notion of the static masterplan.

and ecologies. Scripts are a sequence of instructions

Parametric modeling, despite its complex and often

that can be interpreted and carried out.This definition

curved results, is merely another strategy focused

originates from the etymology of script as simply

on an end product that fails to adapt and change,

“the dialogue and instructions for a play, musical or

that results in a static structure or landscape. In

other performance work” as well as “to scratch an

contrast, scripts are designed processes (both

outline, sketch, from base ‘sker-’ cut, incise.”

engineered and “natural”) that are inserted into and

strategies

interesting,

DIG

STUDIO’s

onto specific site surfaces, geology and ecology. As a Here, we divorce scripting from modern usage and

result, scripts have often unpredictable by-products,

associations with digital computation and parametric

which is how we are seeking to chart indeterminacy.

modeling programs such as Grasshopper, Maya

Scripts result in directed trajectories, marked from

and Python, which employ iterative computational

the point of insertion. Scripts narrow the range of

geometry to “generate” fomal, finite architectural

indeterminacies while allowing for adaptations and

designs. This computational design strategy is

mutations. In addition, scripts engage critical user

heavly employed by Cecil Balmond and Jenny Sabin

interface issues. Scripts interact and perform for

at University of Pennsylvania’s Nonlinear Systems

users, creating engaged, healthy spaces. How users

Organization research group.

interact and experience these processes on a daily basis in turn shapes in process scripts. Scripts are in

While we find these alternative and experimental

a continual state of flux.

The script archive {set a1} offers a set of initial instructions and processes for the Willamette Riverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Industrial edge. Many of our initial scripts

as the writing process evolved, with biological and technological agents comingling, scaffolds and temporal forms were created that work with the various edge conditions (fallow, transitional, industrial). The following pages will provide short descriptions of initial scripts we wrote

SCRIPTS

A CLOSER EXAMINATION

over the course of a few weeks while analyzing the industrial Port of Portland. These scripts were written and geocoded for specific inserstion

RAIL CONSTANT

of contaminated soils, groundwater; however,

USER INTERFACE

were written for biological and phyto remediation

points and surface locations, illustrated in the geocoded gambeboard map fold-out (last page). Scripts offer a way forward to maximize landuse efficiency, comingling industry as well as ecological and social services.

Scripts were developed with the intention of maximizing the interface between site and user. Multiple layers of interface functionality is built into the site via scripts.

Against the change inherent in designing with the indeterminate nature of these scripts a constant helps to root the design and create a foil against which processes can be seen. The rail has a historical presence in the port and plays an important role in its future; therefore, it makes sense as a constant to be incorporated in various forms across the site.

climate change

Pb Pb

5 4 3

SEA LEVEL RISE

Sea level rise is a known future. How can its indeterminate effects be incorporated into a site design.

Lead is a heavy metal found on many of the sites throughout the port. Certain plants can function as hyperaccumulators for this metal

SEQUESTRATION

= BANKRESTORATION

In a traditional manner, heavy equipment and a heavy hand are used to transform the steep slopes of the shoreline into a functional form that better aligns itself with shoreline and river stage processes.

NAPHTHALENE

Endophitically enhanced grasses can be planted in areas with high PAH’s in the soil. The endophites allow plants to use the carbon in the compound for growth while breaking down the PAH into its constiuent parts.

H H

C C

C H

C C C

C C C C

H H

ROBUST GRASSES

BROKEN PHA’S

(POLYAROMATIC HYDROCARBONS)

PAH’s

EG.

MERCURY

= JUNCUS MARITIMUS

FRESHMARSH

Heavy metals, especially mercury, build up in water and ocean conditions. Certain plants such as Juncus maritimus have been found to fold and sequester those metals in their cell structures. Through the insertion of these plants, heavy metals can be collected and reused.

SEQUESTRATION

CHINESE BRAKE

FERN Chinese brake fern is another example of a plant that has been found to sequester Arsenic in its leaves, allowing for the collection and safe removal of toxic metals.

The Lower Willamette River provides major habitat connectivity between the Columbia River and the upper Willamette Valley, including the further stream reaches of the Cascade and Coastal Ranges. Maintenance of existing --and provision of new--habitats in indicated by this script.

CADMIUM

= NICOTIANA

TABACUM

Tabacco is another hyperaccumulator that is especially efficient in the collection and sequestration of cadmium.

Cd Cd Cd

Cd Cd

SEQUESTRATION

HEAVYMETAL GMO ORGANICCHEMICAL POPLARS Poplars are one of the best plants for phytoremediation techniques. They readily adapt to new endophytic bacteria and spread their roots very deeply to allow for cleaning hard to reach water tables. They may also be genetically modified to enhance their cleansing functionality and work as a hyperaccumulator for heavy metals.

TCE

BIODEGRADATION

ACCUMULATION

TCE

HEAVYMETAL ORGANICCHEMICAL

PAH

H C

BTEX PAH

Floating remediation islands comprised of phytoremediatory plants can be starter seeds for near shore cleaning. Constructed of durable, non-toxic post-consumer plastics and vegetated with with a mix of plants, these islands function on multiple levels (habitat and remediation and be tailored for specific locations. After the rootbag disintigrates, the islands, equiped with sensory technology, are free to move to any location or drift with the currents for further remediation down river.

REMISLAND

& Cl

BIODEGRADATION OGRANICCHEMS

BIND+SEQUESTER

BTEX

PAH

BTEX PAH

Cd Cd

The remediation island typology is adapted to an extensive green roof / lid structure. Alternate configurations replace botanical hex modules with skylights, solar panels or other architecturally explicit functions. The surface of the completed lid serves as a park, extending from the Waud cliffs (or other location) and meeting the river bank. Alternate lid topographies can be accommodated.

CONTAMINATED

GROUNDWATER

= NANOTUBE

Nanotechnology has lead to the creation of tiny cleaning particles. Through the placement of tubes that pierce contaminated groundwater wells, nano cleansers within the tube can filter and clean water. This creates a visual of the cleaning process legible to visitors.

CLEANSED WATER

FILTER+DEGRADE

+ + + + +++ + +

= NANOBUCK

Another example of nanotechnology at work. Tiny nanopaticles collect contaminantes in river sediment and latch them together. These particles can build up and be removed or rendered inert.

TCE

PAH

CLEANSED RIVER SEDIMENT

CONTAMINATED RIVERSEDIMENT

ACCUMULATOR

TCE

The port itself, and its economic function, is another possible insertion into a site. To allow for greater economic, social and ecological functions, it may be necessary to recalibrate landuse patterns in and around the port system to provide for multi-functional landscapes.

WASTEWATER

EFFLUENT

= WILLOW

BIRCH

Wetland plants, such as willows and birches, can function to clean wastewaters and effluents from nearby neighborhoods. The plants could then be used as a source of biofuel for energy production in small scale local powerplants. 17

EFFLUENT TREATMENT BIOFUEL PRODUCTION STORMWATER DETENTION

+ TOLUENE

= ENDOPHTYE++

POPLAR

Endophytically enhanced poplars are be used to remove and remediate organic materials such as BTEX. When the roots are of a mature age (i.e. grown deep), contaminated groundwater plumes are effectively stopped by the endophytes.

H H C

BREAK DOWN OF BTEX COMPOUNDS

EG.

CH3

PLUME STOPPAGE AFTER ROOT GROWTH

BTEX

TNT

O2N

NO2

O2N

NO2

TNT RD

A further example of how endophytic bacteria remediates toxic chemicals that are often found together. TNT and RDX (two chemicals found together from explosive degredation).

GMO GRASS OUTCOMPETED

CH3

BROKEN RDX

NO2

SEQUESTER TNT

TNT

GEOCODED GAMEBOARD

REGIONAL SCRIPT

After Dig studio selected the Port of Portland as its final site the combing the data and compiling of information and the simple act of wrapping out heads around what we were looking at had to be done.

Regional Analysis Sifting and Churning

As an initial step in the investigatory process DIG studio sifted through many databases containing information related to the industrial port of Portland as a whole and zooming out further to encompass the broader Columbia basin. This data came in the form of GIS data, EPA data sheets, executive summaries, and a plethora of other information. From there various maps were created and compilations of information all

Sifting and Churning

Regional Analysis

with the goal of furthering our understanding.

GIS tracings As a way of cataloguing the information a series of small maps depicting the tracings of data were created. Each map shows a single piece of information derived from the GIS data that we were able to dig up. These maps are bracketed by the confluence of the Willamette and the Columbia river at the north, and the T.W. Sullivan Dam to the south, the first dam on the Willamette. From this effort we were able to build a better base of information on about the greater context of region. This information pointed to the broader context of systems and control in place. These systems have effects all the way down to the scale of the individual spaces along the Willamette.

Dams

Fires