NORTH REACH VISTOR AND EDUCATION CENTER
Exploring and educating on the effects of bioremediation techniques of a brownfield site in North Portland through an experiential learning center. Portland, Oregon. -Georgia Barnett 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Thesis Statement Site and Landscape Concept The Site Site Photos Phasing Master Plan North Reach Visitor and Education Center Process Studies Building Parti Massing and Program Placement Studies Building Plans Sections, Tectonics, Perspectives & Sustainability Strategies
59 - 75 Appendicies 78 - 8 0 Bibliography
T HESI S STAT E ME N T
The site being explored, a former industrial parcel just south of the St. John’s bridge on the bank of the Willamette, is an extreme brownfield site that requires much remediation before it can be livable or workable again. Through a variety of bioremediation techniques the land will be restored from a negative state to productive land once again. Combing historic site restoration to wetlands, as well as maintaining some industrial archeology this site will serve as a precedent for water restoration along the Willamette. This thesis explores ways to educate and introduce visitors to the bioremediation techniques occurring throughout the park. Classrooms and galleries focus on the three main bioremediation strategies occurring: plant remediation on the earth, aquaculture in the shallows, and the reintroduction of the natural watershed from Forest Park. These classrooms and exhibits create the beginning of an experiential educational pathway that winds throughout the park. The North Reach Visitor and Education Center seeks: • To rethink the way deteriorated land can be cleaned by a sustainable restorative solution through bioremediation processes, since traditionally this is done through a much heavier, destructive process. • To teach the community about the ever-changing processes of weather, water, and plants, and the effects they have on our landscapes and structures. • To re-examine the ways a waterfront building can interact with water.
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SI T E & L A NDS C A P E CO NC E P T
The city of Portland is a model for sustainable living, renowned for the diligence of its leaders and planners in creating and shaping a modern green city, as well as the mindset and priorities of its citizens. But with a population boom that estimations say could bring 725,000 new residents to the Portland area in the next 20 years, while remaining constrained by the urban growth boundary, Portland will need to explore new innovations and solutions using its existing land resources in order to remain an incredible place to live. New adaptation and reuse models and prototypes will be critical to the successful future of Portland, and Portland’s North Reach is the perfect location for this exploration. The site being explored, a former industrial parcel just south of the St. John’s bridge on the bank of the Willamette, is an extreme brownfield site that requires much remediation before it can be livable or workable again. Owned by NW Natural, a local natural gas corporation, the site and the surrounding working waterfront is part of the $1 billion Portland Harbor Cleanup and is the secondmost contaminated Superfund site along the Willamette. Although the site is still owned by NW Natural, it is largely inactive and is home to abandoned and disused buildings, tanks, and equipment. The North Reach Redevelopment will revitalize and restore this contaminated industrial brownfield site using cutting-edge, proven bioremediation techniques. The core of the bioremediation system is fast-growing, hardy poplar trees which absorb, filter, and break down industrial toxins and heavy metals as they grow, and are robust enough to survive the polluted soils. Poplars have been used in this bioremediation application in sites across the United States, from brownfields along the Willamette to chemical weapon dumps in New Jersey. The poplar roots reach the deepest, but complementing them will be plants such as sunflowers, willow, pennycress, and geraniums, which have shown success in bioremediation applications around the world.
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THE SITE
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* INDI C AT E S T R AVE L TIME R E Q UIRED BY4 CAR
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SI T E P H OTOS
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P H AS I N G
Once the bioremediation systems have had time to take hold and cleanse the soils of toxic levels of industrial byproduct (10-25 years), the site will begin to transition from a neutral, healthy state into a place of production, revitalization, and generation. The site is composed of two parts, the southern end being largely remediated to its historical wetland state, with some select industrial artifacts left in place, while the northern portion will contain the main site programs: an education center, a research facility including fields and aquaculture ponds, and refurbished existing industrial structures offering work and office spaces for small businesses. The education center and the research facility will be established as two ends of a barbell, with small businesses naturally filling into the structures between them as Portland pushes north and demand for high-quality creative and entrepreneurial space grows in the Northwest.
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Pha se one : Acces s the cur r ent s ituatio n
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Pha se t wo: Sc rape sit e clean, keep s elect indus tr ial ar cheolo gy
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P h as e t h re e : B e g in re m e dia t ion proces s and intr o duce Res ear ch and Educatio n fa c il it ie s
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F I N A L P HAS E : MAST E R P L AN
Visitors to the site can explore the bioremediation techniques and processes in place through a series of walkways and paths weaving through the site. Disused pieces of industrial infrastructure create nodes of interest and activity throughout the site, serving as a counterpoint to the soft natural processes which restored the site to balance, and as reminders of the site’s toxic past. This semichoreographed series of experiences allow visitors to connect to the site’s past, present, and future, to internalize the lessons Portland’s industrial waterfront can teach, and to envision a new way in which the urban environment can interface with its waterways.
ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
North Reach Visitor & Education Center North Reach Research Facility Site Entrance Parking Restored Warehouses Water Taxi Dock
SITE REMEDIATION ELEMENTS 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Poplars Willow Geranium Sunflowers Pennycress Native Grasses Restored Creeks Test Fields
EXPERIENTIAL ELEMENTS 15 16 17 18
Clearing Pathway Industrial Archaeology Shared Street
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N ORTH R EAC H V I SI TO R A N D E DU C AT I O N C ENT E R
Forming the entrance to the site will be an education center, which will welcome visitors and introduce the natural remediation techniques occurring throughout the park. Classrooms and galleries focus on the three main strategies occurring: plant remediation on the earth, aquaculture in the shallows, and the reintroduction of the natural watershed from Foarest Park. These classrooms and exhibits create the beginning of an experiential educational pathway that winds throughout the park.
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PROCESS AND CONCEPT STUDIES
“Everything that I build ends up in the ground, in the atmosphere, or as water. Every material changes and is transformed, by time and by its interaction with water. So, whenever I begin a proect, always have this trandformation in mind. Our Earth is very much shaped by water. For instance, the Atlas Mountains in Morocco are constantly eroding; their materials are being carried by water down into plains and valleys. This for me in a very important thing. We always think we should make structures that last for eternity. But when the Atlast Mountains are eroding, or the Alps, or the Himalayas, how can we think that our buildings will not share the same fate? How can we think that our buildings will not, or should not be eroded by water in time? In water, everything that we use, every material, ends up somewhere.� - Anna Heringer
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BUILDING PARTI
The education center is composed of two bars, shifted apart by a glazed entry lobby to frame a view of the site beyond. To the southwest is a smaller structure housing the support programs, as well as a cafe and gift shop, completing a “main street� of commercial activity that will be integrated into the site. This street is the main entry sequence to the site, taking visitors off of busy Highway 30, on to a slower pedestrian and car friendly street. Initially shielded by poplar trees, with glimpses towards the water, this street is lined by refurbished existing industrial structures offering work and office spaces for small businesses, with the education center on the opposite side, completing the street. This compact support mass complements the main educational spaces where light, water, plants and earth come together to tell different stories in each classroom or gallery. In the final exhibit the visitor can step into an unconditioned room where the Willamette flows through gaps in the the walls, filling the lower level of the space. The visitor is brought down on an intimately sized ramp, meant to be a more introverted experience, to the water level.
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MASSING & PROGRAM PLACEMENT
The building form came about from a series of spatial and experientail studies expressed in the following pages. Starting from one solid mass, the building is pulled appart based on program, and sequence through the space. Organized by a series of mass walls that carefully sheild different rooms and experiences for the visitors. The main structure of the building is four foot thick mass walls which are made of a reinforced rammed earth and cement mixture, containing more cement as the walls reach the water. The mass of the walls will act not only as the main structural support but will also house storage, mechanical equipment, and drains for water run-off. Between these mass walls is a structural concrete floor, with a recycled poplar wood floor floated on top of it, glazed every so often revealing the restored shoreline below. Curtain walls gracefully bridging the mass walls introduce north and south light into the galleries and classrooms, optimizing solar gain, and a light steel roof floats above, pulled back slightly from the mass walls to allow natural light to wash down the textured surface of the rammed earth
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G ROUN D F LO O R P L A N
Entrance Lobby Auditorium Gallery Plant Classroom Plant Courtyard River Classroom River Atrium Aquaculture Classroom Aquaculture Viewing Porch Water Gallery Lockers Tickets Gift shop / Cafe Storage / Mechanical
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SECON D F LO O R P L AN
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Office Conference Room Open Office
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S ECT I O N S, T EC TO NI C S , P E R S P E C T I V E S & SUSTA I N A B L E ST R AT E GI E S
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E ntr y Mater ial Pallete
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South facing glazing For solar gain
Recycled poplar from site remediation for flooring
Recycled metal from abandoned structures on site used as wall siding
Stack cooling in Courtyards to promote cross ventilation
Building elevated above 100 year floor plane, minimal footprint on the ground level.
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Plant remediation throughout site
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The roof level varies from room to room, closer to the ground in the plant remediation classroom, to focus on the earth, and higher in the river classroom to frame an expansive view of the river and St. John's beyond.
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Ope n Air Water Galler y Mater ial Pallete
In the water gallery the mass walls are punctured by numerous small openings faced with steel lintels, to protect the structure, while allowing the water of the Willamette to ebb and flow through. These openings start at the 100 year flood line and reach down into the water. Depending on the time of year and where the current water level is, visitors may only be able to descend to a certain position in the room. This allows for an experience that is constantly changing throughout the year depending on the level of the water. The roof of this space is open to the sky along the edges and in the center. At the edges light will subtly wash the walls, while in the center the roof will be sloped inward to allow water to drain through a framed opening where a sculpture will catch, and channel the water down. When exiting this water gallery, one can either go back through the main gallery, or exit onto a covered porch which frames a view of the aquaculture research beds farther along the bank. The visitor is led from a completely introverted room, to a partially shielded porch and then transitions into the open, remediated site where the visitor can continue to the research center and explore the park beyond.
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APPENDICES
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Appendix A: Historical Maps Appendix B: Bioremediation Strategies Appendix C: Precedent Appendix D: Client, User, Program
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APPENDIX A: HISTORICAL MAPS
The following maps exhibit the history of the proposed site, intially being mainly wetlands, as well as having a long history of partaking in Portlands Industrial Waterfront.
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APPENDIX B: BIOREMEDIATION STRATEGIES Phytoremediation is a natural strategy used to clean up toxins in soils. This strategy uses green plants to reduce contamination in soils, surface water, and groundwater. Certain green plants are successful at removing heavy metals and toxins from brownfield and superfund site. There have been many studies noted on this process with successful soil clean up in anywhere from 10 to 30 years. Some things to note on this process: This process of cleaning soil is not only sustainable, using natural solutions but it is also much more cost effective that more heavy handed options, such as capping, or soil replacement. However, the soil is only cleaned up as deep as the plants roots. This is why using both trees and ground cover plants would be important. “When it comes to using plants to phytoremediate toxic sites, plants can clean up the soil only as far as their root systems reach. Using fast growing trees, such as poplars, willows or black locust, to access deeper contamination with their longer roots would be ideal. Following that with more surface soil remediators would also be great, though the main focus would be on working with the trees to access contamination deeper down. This approach would take time, and success would depend on how deep the contamination or the hydrocarbon plume was and where it was in relation to the site.” Another important factor in this remediation solution is that when the plants are harvested, the plants used to clean the soil need to be thrown away and marked hazardous so the toxins don’t re-enter the earth. Potential plants that can be used for phytoremediation: sunflowers, Oregon poplar trees, pennycress, willow, blackl locust, alfalfa, and geraniums.
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APPENDIX C: PRECEDENTS
A. Peter Zumthor - Protective Structure for Roman Ruins, Chur, Switzerland B. Polifactory - HOUS.E +, Vancouver, Canada C. Olafur Eliasson - River Bed Exhibition, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art D. Peter Zumthor - Kolumba Museum, Germany E. Olafur Eliasson - The Meditated Motion, Kunsthaus Bregenz F.Olafur Eliasson - The Meditated Motion, Kunsthaus Bregenz G MMX - Eco Pavilion, Mexico H. Bly Windstorm - Center for Urban Waters, Tacoma Washington I. Chapman Taylor - Cabot Circus, Bristol England J. Wire truss example image K. Irisarri & Piñera Fishermen’s Huts, Cangas De Morrazo, Spain L. Turenscape, Shanghai Expo Park, China M. Renzo Piano - Beyley Foundation, Riehen, Switzerland
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APPENDIX D: CLIENT, USER, PROGRAM
C L I E NTS The site is owned and operated by NW Natural, a Portland-based utilities company whose predecessor companies were responsible for the current industrial contamination of the site. As part of ongoing cleanup efforts to make the site clean, safe, and usable again, NW Natural will redevelop the landscape of the site with an extensive bioremediation strategy. The natural systems and strategies used to clean up the site and surrounding areas will make the site appealing for future use by a wider variety of parties, and rents and leases will help NW Natural recoup some of the cleanup costs. A collaboration between medium-scale private sector aquaculture / food processing entities and public-sector food and agriculture research programs will make use of the site to produce and process food, and research that production and process. The site will become a working, living laboratory, studying how once-useless industrial sites can be turned into productive land once again, and contributing to the re-localization of Oregon and America’s food production and processing industry. Natural remediation systems and natural production systems will be seamlessly integrated. A wider variety of small-scale businesses, entrepreneurs, startups, and creators will be supported on the site as well. These may take advantage of and tie into the food processing and production activities happening on the site. Public entities such as TriMet and the City will also be involved, through public space learning initiatives and a water taxi transit center. US E R S Day-to-day users of the site will consist of agriculture / aquaculture workers and researchers, small business owners and employees, TriMet or other water taxi operators, and members of the public who are there to do business, shop, explore, or learn.
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PUBLIC
water taxi
entry educational center
exterior educational gathering spaces
local business infastructure
OUTDOOR
INDOOR
farming and harvesting
aquaculture
food production spaces research
PRIVATE
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HEAVY FOOTPRINT
farming and harvesting
research
aquaculture educational center
food production spaces RIVER
LAND local business infastructure
water taxi
exterior educational gathering spaces entry
LIGHT FOOTPRINT
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AGRICULTURE / AQUACULTURE / PROCESSING
MEDIUM
RESEARCH FACILITY
LARGE
BUSINESS SPACES / CREATIVE SPACES
EDUCATION & WELCOME CENTER
LANDSCAPE REHABILITATION PUBLIC SPACES & WALKWAYS
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PROGRAM MATRIX
INDOOR SPACE
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QUALITIES
1,000 - 3,000 sq ft each (many on site)
flexible spaces, that can be rented and used by small business. Main role as an introduction to jobs in the area. Potential to grow overtime into greater spaces. These spaces should have some relation to the food industry and education aspect
Light touch on the earth, integrated with boardwalk and in swales, and potentially farm. Larger and enclosed in some places, open air in others, wrapping around and through other site elements.
+/- 30,000 sq. ft.
This will be a place that the public can interact with and come to, to learn about what cleansing and sustainable practices are occurring on site. It is a place to learn about food production, processing and sales and how they impact the earth and the local economy. Welcome center to the site.
Large, open and well integrated with the site features, this is a starting point for what the whole site acts as.
SIZE
USAGE
QUALITIES
Water treatment swales
80% of total river frontage of site
Water treatment, habitat restoration, waterfront access, possible integration with food production, grey water harvesting
Vegetation, terraced walls, linear movement of water, views and access to the river
Aquaculture
Modular zones of 20-1200 sq. ft (many) depends on species
Oyster/shellfish habitat, Fish farming + harvesting
Visible from the site, demonstrating what’s happening
Farming and food harvesting
various 1000-2000 sq. ft.
Farming of various kinds (algae, plants, etc.) harvesting pavilions and storage necessary
Utilitarian, industrial, but with some public interface at points
Educational gathering spaces
1,000 - 3,000 sq ft each (many on site)
places where the public can visit, observe, engage and learn about the research and processes happening on the site.
Water taxi ports
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Connection point to proposed water taxi system. Loading/ unloading, waiting, ticketing
Local business infrastructure
Educational center
SIZE
OUTDOOR SPACE
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Light touch on the earth, integrated with boardwalk and in swales, and potentially farm. Larger and enclosed in some places, open air in others, wrapping around and through other site elements. Welcoming, natural light, natural materials, views to other site elements
SOURCES / BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adams / Former Mayor, Sam, and Susan Anderson / Director. Food Systems. Rep. Portland: City of Portland Bureau Planning and Sustainability, 2009. Print. PORTLAND PLAN BACKGROUND REPORT. - Economic statistics on food production in Portland “ARS : News & Events.” N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2015. Web. 2 Jan. 2015. - This article is a very technical, detailed and informative article on Phytoremediation. Carrera, Judit, Magda Anglès, and Rosa Puig Torres. In Favour of Public Space: Ten Years of the European Prize for Urban Public Space. Barcelona: CCCB, 2010. Print. -Good information describing the project, as well as for photos. “Climate Portland - Oregon and Weather Averages Portland.” N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. - Good source to get some background on basic climate information. Co, Francesco Dal. Tadao Ando: Complete Works. London: Phaidon, 1995. Print. - Information on Water Temple case study “Gas Stations.” N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2015. Web. 2 Jan. 2015. -This article addresses the the strategy of Phytoremediation, and brings up the fact that the soil can only be cleaned up to the level of the roots. Jeff. “Portland GasCo Building.” Portland GasCo Building. N.p., 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 3 Nov. 2014. - A discussion of the Portland GasCo Building which sits on our site and could possibly be incorporated into the project. “Plants That Clean Soil.” N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2015. Web. 2 Jan. 2015. -This article addresses the the strategy of Phytoremediation. It gives a basic overview as well as example plants that are successful at this process.
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SOURCES / BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Public Space: Casetas de Pescadores En El Puerto: Cangas Do Morrazo (Spain), 2008.” N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. -Good information describing the project, as well as for photos. “Regional Growth Projections.” N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. - Information on Portland’s projected population growth in the next 20 or so years. “Rising Currents at MoMA | ArchDaily.” N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. - Softscape intervention on Manhattan’s waterfront, incorporating natural elements, aquaculture, and storm surge resilience. “River | Zerrin Hosgor.” N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. -Source for the Turnscape case study, primarily existing imagery. “Rockaway rising 2013 - lateral office.” N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. - Proposed intervention in storm-vulnerable community in New Jersey, incorporating softscaping and bioswales to increase resiliency. Saunders, William S., and Kongjian Yu. Designed Ecologies: The Landscape Architecture of Kongjian Yu. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2012. Print. -Really great source for passive and ecological solutions directed towards water management, and site restoration. Primarily used for the Turnscape case study. Scofidio, Ricardo & Diller, Liz. “Blur Building.” Project info. Web. 13 Nov 2014. http://www.dsrny.com - Information on Blur Building case study “Shanghai Houtan Park / Turenscape.” ArchDaily. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. -Source for more information on the Turnscape case study, primarily a source for project imagery.
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SOURCES / BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Sunflowers to the Rescue!” Farmers’ Almanac. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2015. -This article makes an important note that when harvesting plants used for the Phytoremediation process, the plants used to clean the soil need to be thrown away and marked hazardous so the toxins don’t re-enter the earth. The Plant. “About.” Project info. Web. 5 December 2014. - Information about The Plant case study. “Using Phytoremediation to Clean Up Sites | Superfund | US EPA.” N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2015. -This article is very informative about Phytoremediation. It contains a case study of this process in Clackamas, Oregon that estimates the soil with be 85% restored in 30 years time. “Water economies 2009-10 - lateral office.” N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. - An ideas competition entry focusing on rehabilitating and revitalizing the Salton Sea in Southern California using modular systems and interventions. Incorporates aquaculture and freshwater filtration. Woodard, Chris. “Is Portland Prepared for Population Boom?” KOIN.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. - Information on Portland’s projected population growth in the next 20 or so years. Zolli, Andrew. Resilience : Why Things Bounce Back. 1st ed. New York: Free, 2012. Print. - An in-depth look at what makes systems resilient and how to increase system resiliency. Contains concepts applicable to waterfront restoration and disaster preparedness
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Fall/Winter/Spring 2014-2015 Instructor: Gerald Gast Soft Urban Water Fronts University of Oregon Georgia Barnett gibarnet@gmail.com georgiabarnett.cc