THE WILD ANACOSTIA cultivating a thick edge typology through everyday experience By Kate Hayes, M.L.A. University of Virginia; B.S. Stanford University Master of Landscape Architecture Thesis, May 2013
Cultivating a thick edge t ypolog y through ever yday experience Many urban rivers today can be labeled as “thin parks,*” physically and spatially separated from their surrounding communities. This design thesis harnesses the momentum from President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative and the narratives associated with Anacostia River in Washington DC, to cultivate a “thick edge” typology for urban rivers. By catalyzing human appropriation and drawing on everyday activities, this thick edge, expressed in the form of a trail, walk, and path network, acts as a guide for discovering and fostering a stronger, reciprocal relationship with the urban wild. With a trail, walk, and path network that both adds and adapts to the existing Anacostia River Trail, this design is site specific yet replicable to other urban national parks through four main thickening strategies. The four “thickening” strategies addressed in this book bring renewed life back to a river that has historically been misconceived and branded as the “Forgotten River.”
a thin park
* This term was adapted from Karl Kullman’s article, “Thin Parks/thick edges: towards a linear park typology for (post) infrastructural sites,” in the autumn 2011 Journal of Landscape Architecture
+ historical context
ABSTRACT 2 | Hayes
+ hydrology
+ park network
+ infrastructure
+ community
“Wildness is in our own back yards, of the nature that is all around us if only we have the eyes to see it� - William Cronon
A special thanks to my thesis advisors, Leena Cho + Elizabeth K. Meyer
photo credits: Kate Hayes
Hayes | 3
Final review, May 2013
CONTENTS 4 | Hayes
Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t s
Abstract
2
Background
6
Narr ative s of th e Forgot ten River T h e A n a c o s t i a To d a y Wilderness vs Urban Wild A C r i t i q u e : T h e A n a c o s t i a R i v e r Tr a i l
Design 22 A Tr a i l , W a l k , P a t h N e t w o r k Thickening Strategies
Process 4 8 Ongoing Research 54 Hayes | 5
Existing Conditions The Anacostia River, an urban river in Washington D.C., can be characterized as a “thin park,” devoid of its context and separated from much of its surroundings. The Anacostia flows just over 8 miles from Bladensburg, Maryland off the DC border, through a marginalized Southeast D.C., before emptying into the Potomac River. Physically cut off from its surroundings by highways and vegetative barriers, many people are naively unaware of the Anacostia’s location or potential as an urban river in our nation’s capital.
BACKGROUND 6 | Hayes
source; Kate Hayes
8.3 miles
Bladensburg, MD
Potom ac Riv er
National Mall
The Anacostia River flows through Southeast Washington DC Hayes | 7
An Urbanized Watershed At 176 square miles, the Anacostia River’s watershed is highly urbanized. Flows of sediment, water, and species that originate in the MD suburbs are quick to flow down and empty into the Anacostia River. Like the river’s location, however, many people are naively unaware of the impacts in the Anacostia’s greater watershed. Washington DC can be most fundamentally defined by its topography. Pierre L’Enfant’s original 1791 plan for the city bases its street grid on the topography, from the subtle microtopography to the steep ridges. As evident in the following diagram of DC, the Anacostia is generally defined by two sides of the river: ridges to the east and floodplain to the west. Through a series of reclamation acts beginning in the late 19th century, the river was dredged, the marshes were drained, and a seawall was built to contain the river. Today’s shoreline is much “thinner” than it used to be, reinforcing this thin park typology.
clear the forests tidal marshes develop the marshes
Benn
ing Ro ad
oria
lB
rid
ge
-
ed
po s
ro
:p 91 18
acks ad tr
ro Rail
n
CSX
19 42
pl an
dr ed
gi ng
nd iti on co g tin ex is 1:
ge
rid tB
Fre S C deric ap k D ito l S oug tre las et s M SW em
ree St
18 9
th
11
19 14 19 : An 16 ac 19 : Kin osti 28 gm a R ive a 19 : tw 30 o i n + r Fl at H ’s: sla wa nd erita s Ac te s in ge t rg at Kin Isla e g m nds to m Ki an a ng L m ake de f an ro m La ad m d e ke fro red ge m m ne a w br teri a id ge l dr ed ge s
An a e th
ilip Pe So nn us sy a lva Br nia idg Av e e
ge rid
Pe te ba r C th . H ym ai et n’s ry M su ap rv ey of
Whitney Young Memorial Bridge East Capitol Street (1955 extented)
Ph
rB
gJ
Kin
a
er
fill the “flats”
n
Luth
8 | Hayes
Jo h
r tin
deepen the channel
20 1968: K 13 enilw : e orth L xis andf tin ill in o g perat co ion nd iti o
tidal mud flats
Ma
co s
tia
1861 Benning Bridge constructed
176 square miles
176 square miles 800,000 residents 200 bird species
800,000 resid
43 fish species north to Maryland regional trails
at
er
a w
a
An
lan
0.5
1 Miles
on iti co nd g 18 91 :e xis tin
0.25
Washington DC and the Anacostia watershed host an existing trail network that draws on the area’s natural features, including topography and hydrology
a
0
Pe te ba r C th . H ym ai et n’s ry M su ap rv ey of th
e
tP fa n C. L’E n ier
re
south to Blue Plains
:P 17 91
tidal mud flats
ac
os tia
an
ur
ba
ni
ze
d
ne wat sh tw ers a ed orkhed a waof ne of tw teflo tra or rsw ils hs e ank o d uf trr o ff baial sn low ize s d wa te rs h
Bladensburg, MD
Hayes | 9
Th e Forgot ten River: Environmental Justice
“Now we're married
The Anacostia has a unique history of unrealized ambitions, dreams of children’s museums, airports, jails,Never to part gay rodeos, low income housing, a dammed recreational lake, and Little Anacostia aquariums (to name a few) that were consistently pushed Is my sweet heart.” aside for development in other areas of the city, notably -Washington Evening Star, 1890 Northwest DC and along the Potomac River. Additionally, the Anacostia is subject to environmental injustice, receiving a disproportional large amount of stormwater runoff and contamination compared to the Potomac River. For these reasons, the Anacostia has been negatively labeled the “Forgotten River” by many Washingtonians, a name which further feeds into common misconceptions about the Anacostia.
Langston Golf Course only course in the 30’s to let African Americans play. Langston Golf Course has never hosted a PGA event or U.S. Open tournament (2009 Post article) 52
million gal/yr
“Now we're married Never to part Little Anacostia Is my sweet heart.”
228 tons
Kenilworth Landfill (1960-1998)
er
850
million gal/yr
wastew at
Polychlorinated Biphenyls Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Methane
of trash (2011)
-Washington Evening Star, 1890
RFK Stadium: “burgundy, gold and Caucasian”
1.5
1946 reintigration of NFL. 1961, Redskins only NFL team without an African American
billion gal/yr
20,000 tons
of trash (AWS)
Total Population: African American Hazardous Waste Point
“Impaired by trash” (2007)
Toxic Release Inventory Point Water Discharge Point 0
10 | Hayes
1.5
3 miles
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
Mystery Mountain Kenilworth Landfill North Kenilworth Landfill National Arboretum PEPCO Benning Road power plant
low income housing
public aquarium
Langston Golf Course
Navy Yard The Yards
National’s Stadium
1997
2000
Anacostia Watershed Initiative
1967
Extending the Legacy Plan
1930’s
1967 Lawrence Halprin proposal
1901
Kingman Island water gate propsal
1791
McMillan Commission (water park)
UNREALIZED | EXISTING
L’Enfant Plan
South Gateway + Senate Building
2005
2011
Anacostia River Trail
FBI Metro bus storage big box retail
Proposal for environmental education center + wildlife refuge
D.C. jail new stadium new landfill parking lots reclaiming more land Children’s Theme Park City Airport new Redskins Stadium Eastern Gateway Kingman Island Educational Center + wildlife refuge RFK Stadium Gay Rodeo stadium High Tide Lake
Hayes | 11
C o n v e r s a t i o n To d a y The Anacostia has been a focus for clean up efforts since the late 1980s, but the conversation has picked up in just the past few years. DC Mayor Vincent Grey has made the river a priority in his 2012 Sustainable DC Report, calling for the Anacostia to be fishable and swimmable in 20 years. Also, the Anacostia is currently under construction for a 26 ft diameter tunnel that will connect CSO outfalls with Blue Plains treatment center, relieving the river from over 90% of its current stormwater runoff, the largest pollution source in the river.
A Community of Fish + Flows Despite economic and political setbacks, the Anacostia community has strong ties to and narratives about this river, oftentimes going back generations. Although it is illegal to consume fish from the river, over 17,000 people still eat the fish from the Anacostia. For many, it is the source of protein in their diet. Similarly, several elders share stories of how they learned to swim in the river, back when pools were segregated. And many congregations used to host their baptism in the Anacostia’s waters.
A VISION FOR A SUSTAINABLE DC
source: DC Mayor Vincent Gray’s Sustainable DC Plan 12 | Hayes
source: DC Water
What would you choose? A. Immediate need to eat B. Long-term health concern
s ay
d 0+
3 local community
“other” community
A shared
B
75% of them are sharing their catch (NGS)
humans
17,200
residents from the area are consuming fish from the Anacostia
men fish regularly (georgetown voice)
50-68% 10-23%
have tumors
have skin lesions (U.S. Fish + Wildlife)
Indicator Species: Brown Bullhead Catfish
water flow
1,000-3,000
caught
67% African American (fish study) anglers
18% Hispanic (fish study) 8% Asian (fish study) 6% White (fish study)
absorbed
70-80% stormwater runoff
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Chlordane (pesticide)
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Methane
toxins on river bottom + in water column
Water Discharge Point Underground Storage Tank Point Toxic Release Inventory Point
ht roug
Hazardous Waste Point
in d days + 0 10
Combined Sewer Outfall
0
0.5
1 Mile
source: “Addressing the Risk: Understanding and Changing Anglers’ Attitudes about the Danger of Consuming Anacostia River FIsh,” November 2012 Hayes | 13
A n a c o s t i a R i v e r Tr a i l Another ongoing project is the Anacostia River Trail, an effort being led by the National Park Service. Two thirds complete, the River Trail is a primarily asphalt trail that runs up and down both sides of the river. There is also a trail in the water – the Kingfisher Trail – which connects the Anacostia to the greater Chesapeake Bay. The Anacostia River Trail is a prototype for other NPS signature urban river projects around the country yet it also marks a historical trend in national parks: the construction of asphalt trails that separate human experience from dynamic processes in the landscape. Through this thin line typology of single access, these trails oftentimes foster the mythology of a wilderness defined by distant, untouched landscapes and feed into misconceptions that support a hands-off, preservation perspective and undermine contemporary forwardlooking ideas of sustainability in our cities.
A rendering of the design for the next phase of the Anacostia River Trail
14 | Hayes
sources: ART NE Planned flikr (map); Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (rendering)
0 0
200
400 Kilometers 200
401 NPS areas Rocky Mountain Greenway, CO
Jordan River Parkway Trail, UT
400 Miles
401 NPS
Middle Rio Grande Natinoal Wildlife Refuge, NM
0 0
200
400 Kilometers 200
Jordan River Parkway Trail, UT
400 Miles
ATALOG OF URBAN RIVER TRAILS THIN LINE CONDITIONS OF URBAN TRAILS CATALOG OF URBAN RIVER TRAILS THIN LINE CONDITIONS OF URBAN T Anacostia River Watershed, DC 8.7 miles of river
Anacostia River Watershed, DC
18 miles of trail
8.7 miles of river
trails are typically 8’ to 10’ wide
18 miles of trail 8-10 ft
trails are t 8-10 ft
petroleum runoff
trails are typically made of asphalt, which is sealed with petroleum products
Detroit Riverwalk, MI 24 miles of river
petroleum runoff
trails are t is sealed w
Detroit Riverwalk, MI
5.5 miles
24 miles of river 5.5 miles
trails are typically a set distance from the river
trails are t from the r
one width one width
Chattanooga Riverwalk, TN 57 miles
the trails oftentimes pass through large areas of mowed turf
Chattanooga Riverwalk, TN
20 miles
the trails o large area
57 miles 20 miles
unmaintained thickets oftentimes separate the trail from the river
unmainta separate t
Los Angeles River Watershed, CA 51 mile river
Los Angeles River Watershed, CA
9 miles
51 mile river 9 miles
simple boardwalks are oftentimes constructed for crossing water
simple bo construct 0’
4’
8’
16’ 0’
Thin line condition of Anacostia River Trail: existing conditions
4’
8’
16’
Thin line typologies of many urban river trails
Hayes | 15
Anacostia River Watershed, DC 8.7 miles of river 18 miles of trail
A m e r i c a ’s G r e a t O u t d o o r s Both the River Trail and the Water Trail are example projects in Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative. Launched in 2010, AGO seeks “to develop a 21st Century conservation and recreation agenda… designed and accomplished in partnership with the American people.” Over the past year, the report has focused its vision on urban projects, highlighting the Anacostia River Trail as an “innovative” model for linear, urban national parks around the country.
Detroit Riverwalk, MI 24 miles of river 5.5 miles
Chattanooga Riverwalk, TN 57 miles 20 miles
America’s Great Outdoors:
A Promise to Future Generations February 2011
Los Angeles River Watershed, CA 51 mile river 9 miles
source: Dept. of Interior
16 | Hayes
A catalog of similar urban river trails
America’s Great Outdoors Initiative SIGNATURE URBAN PROJECTS national parks
Grand River, Grand Rapids, MI
5,000,000
500,000
Chicago’s Indiana Dunes + Calumet Millennium Reserve, IL
Twin Cities Park: Mississippi National River and Recreational Area, MN
1,000,000
Milwaukee River Restoration Project, WI
St. Louis Arch and Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, MO
Detroit River Urban Park, MI
Population of cities
Sulpher Springs Assessment + Restoration Project, OH Blackston River Valley Greenway, RI
Our Urban National Parks
Jamaica Bay (Gateway), NY Bronx/Harlem National Water Trail, NY Urban Greening, Philadelphia, PA
Urban national parks rank as some of the most visited and most diverse parks in our national park system. Twenty signature AGO urban projects around the country present an opportunity to further increase the diversity and access of our national parks.
BLUE RIDGE PKWY
Chattanooga Riverwalk, TN Chattahoochee River NRA Water Trail, GA
total U.S. acreage
Los Angeles River Watershed, CA Lorenzi Park, NV Rio Salado River Pathways Program, AZ
20% RURAL 80% URBAN
100
84 million acres, 2.7% of U.S.
200 Miles
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, TX Rocky Mountain Greenway, CO
401 NPS areas
Middle Rio Grande Natinoal Wildlife Refuge, NM 0
200
400 Kilometers 200
Jordan River Parkway Trail, UT
400 Miles
15,382,44714,567,487
U.S. Population 2010
North
Scale for all areas except Alaska 200 Kilometers 0 100 0
0
Twenty signature urban projects
The Urban Wild
CATALOG OF URBAN RIVER TRAILS
THIN LINE CONDITIONS OF URBAN TRAILS
thickening a relationship: integrating recreation and the urban wild Anacostia River Watershed, DC 8.7 miles of river
18 miles of trail
trails are typically 8’ to 10’ wide 3.5% ASIAN
8-10 ft
39% WHITE
51% 39% AFRICAN WHITE AMERICAN
51% AFRICAN AMERICAN
petroleum runoff
2011: 280 million visitors
2,221,766 acres
one width
trails are typically made of asphalt, which is sealed with petroleum products
trails are typically a set distance from the river
the trails oftentimes pass through large areas of mowed turf
20 miles
Area vs. # visitors (2012)
NP Visitors 2008-2009
Two ofthe thetop top most visited national Two of fivefive most visited national parks areparks locatedare located in urban areas (nps.gov, 2012) in urban areas (nps.gov, 2012)
57 miles
250,000 jobs
Chattanooga Riverwalk, TN
3,447,729 visitors
78% WHITE
Yellowstone NP
7,417,397
9% HISPANIC
14,567,487 visitors
7,697,727
3% OTHER
7% AFRICAN AMERICAN
80,000 acres
9,008,830
Washington D.C. 2010
5.5 miles
Golden Gate NRA
GW MEMORIAL PKWY
Yosemite NP Visitors 2009
GATEWAY NRA
14,567,487
24 miles of river
GREAT SMOKEY MOUNTAINS NP
15,382,447
GOLDEN GATE NRA
BLUE RIDGE PKWY
Detroit Riverwalk, MI
hiking/camping/fishing: $730 billion
77% WHITE
U.S. RECREATION
NATIONAL PARKS
retail: $289 billion annually
9% HISPANIC HISPANIC P
9% HISPANIC
6 million jobs
11% ASIAN + HISPANIC
4% OTHER
4% OTHER
47% Americans visited a national park in last 2 yrs (2009 survery)
3.5% ASIAN
$12 billion annually
1% AFRICAN AMERICAN
3% ASIAN
GOLDEN GATE NRA
Furthermore, NPS plays a large role in recreation, particularly in our urban environments. In the case of the Anacostia, over 90% of the land adjacent to the river is government owned, most by the NPS. How can we “thicken” this relationship, by better integrating recreation and the urban wild?
Masonville Cover Environmental Education Center, MD Anacostia River Watershed, DC
UrbanUrban national parks anopportunity opportunity to national parksprovide provide an to increase increase diversity in our national park system (nps.gov) diversity in our national park system (nps.gov)
Recreation and in national parkshuge provides Recreation inin thethe U.S.U.S. and in national parks provdes huge economic returns (nps.gov) economic returns (nps.gov) unmaintained thickets oftentimes separate the trail from the river
Hayes | 17
Los Angeles River Watershed, CA 51 mile river 9 miles
Wilderness The majority of these urban parks behave remarkably similar to NPS’s rural national parks with trails that too often separate human experience from ecological processes with a rope or a boardwalk, and strictly dictate experience of the landscape with a single path. This outdated method fosters the mythology of a wilderness that no longer exists, a wilderness defined by distant, untouched landscapes. Promoting nostalgia for this wilderness not only feeds into misconceptions but also supports a hands-off, preservation perspective that undermines contemporary forward-looking ideas of sustainability in our cities.
“Idealizing a distant wilderness too of ten means not idealizing the environment in which we actually live, the landscape that for bet ter or worse we call home� -William Cronon
Birds-eye view of the Anacostia River
18 | Hayes
The construction of asphalt trails and many boardwalks separate human experience from dynamic processes in the landscape and reinforce the mythology of wilderness
Hayes | 19
The Urban Wild
to  C hes
ape
ake
 Ba y
How can we challenge this thin line thinking of existing river trails and the mythology of a wilderness, and instead foster a stronger relationship with the urban wild through the expression of a trail? An urban wild that is not about escaping from our everyday lives but is about accepting and confronting the wild in us and inspiring and interpreting the wild in our own backyards. This urban wild does not have to be at the scale of Yosemite or the entire Anacostia river system, but can be found in a space as small as the crack of pavement. It is a wild that supports and encourages human appropriation instead of isolating or separating it.
This landscape framework plan of the Anacostia reveals the many underlying, and oftentimes invisible, systems that make up this unique riverscape 20 | Hayes
orientation + disorientation control + uncontrol development
temporal + temporary interventions
wonder + fear
diversity
strangely familiar
incremental
indeterminancy
transforming performative
ambiguity appropriation
participatory indeterminancy + ambiguity
subjectivity
incompleteness
expression
registration of change
mobility
adaptation
appropriation events
registration of change
expression wildlife
incompleteness + testing growing
phasing
adaptation + evolution layered
weathering
network connecting processes burried narratives children + growth + play
An ideogram highlighting the socio-ecological aspects of the urban wild Hayes | 21
“a mark left” “a trace” “a track” “worn by passage of persons in wild/uninhabited region” “beaten track” “rude path”
WG: doesn’t understand + needs to see it visually
Tr a i l , W a l k , P a t h N e t w o r k
a m
ar
k l
e
ade
nm
, u
“continued treading” “unmade and unenclosed” “rather than one deliberately planned” “on foot”
ft,
d
a narrative, journey, a distance, a length of time
walk
t, discove ren ry,
always diffe
e til
path
unpla n n e
“distance” “length of time” “traveling or wandering” “a journey”
vola
The existing Anacostia River Trail can be described as a thin line. Together, however, the lines of a trail, walk, and path network can thicken – both the spatial dimension and the public awareness of – the Anacostia. Expressed through these lines, this thick edge breaks down and extends the boundaries of this urban river system by hybridizing the rhythms and movements of the daily lives of the community with those of the urban wild.
trail a t rac e, t h e pre senc e of a b s ence , reg ion a l ly b ase d
“Trail” is just one word that can be used to describe sequential linear movement. Design opportunities arise in association with other words that describe similar movement, including “walk” and “path.” According to Oxford English Dictionary, “trail” is defined by marks left, traces, or tracks. A “walk” is defined by a set distance or length of time. And a “path” is unmade, unenclosed, and unplanned.
Existing “thin line” of the Anacostia River Trail This proposed network of trails, walks, and paths work together to “thicken” the existing trail and further embed the Anacostia River Trail in its rich community
DESIGN 22 | Hayes
D , M sburg aden to Bl
landfill
0.4 miles, 9 min walk
River Terrace Elementary School
Anacostia Ave NE
0.2 miles , 3 min walk
hesa peak e Ba y
Anacostia Ave NE
neighborhood street
I-295
Anacostia High School
the flats
I-295
the flats
walk: through future development on fillscape 0.3 miles, 5 min walk
road
0.2 miles, 4 min walk
road
walk: after school play on the “flats”
to C
railroad
boathouse row
road road
walk: narrative of water access 0.2 miles uphill, 6 min walk
ANACOSTIA PARK
walk: the story of a combined sewer system 0.1 miles uphill, 3 min walk
2.2 miles (50 min walk, 22 min jog, 13 min bike)
1 mile (20 min walk, 10 min jog, 6 min bike)
BOATHOUSE ROW
hospital complex
I-295
walk: along a freeway barrier to neighborhood beyond
cemetary
River Terrace neighborhood trail + service road
parking lot
C Street
RFK
0.1 miles uphill, 2 min walk
1 mile (20 min walk, 10 min jog, 6 min bike)
0.15 miles, 4 min walk
RIVER TERRACE
1 mile (20 min walk, 10 min jog, 6 min bike)
RFK STADIUM
walk: an elementary school’s outdoor classroom by the river
walk: crossing a historical stream
Thomas Elementary School
walk: the narrative of a healing landscape
walk: a narrative of monumental scales 0.2 miles, 4 min walk
Hayes Street service road
National Arboretum
0.25 miles uphill, 7 min walk
Mayfair neighborhood
walk: the story of a restored stream
Watts Branch Creek
walk: a front door/landing pad to the National Arboretum 0.2 miles uphill, 7 min walk
KENILWORTH LANDFILL
0.5 miles, 11 min walk
1 mile (20 min walk, 10 min jog, 6 min bike)
0.6 mile (16 min walk, 6 min jog, 4 min bike)
TUNNEL PROJECT
1 mile (20 min walk, 10 min jog, __ min bike)
NATIONAL ARBORETUM
walk: through delicate marshland
KENILWORTH AQUATIC GARDENS
0.6 mile (16 min walk, 6 min jog, 4 min bike)
TRAIL
existing trail proposed trail 1= 50’ scale sections (vertical exaggerated x2) 0’
50’
100’
distances: walk (20 min/mile); jog (10 min/mile); bike (10 m/hr)
This new trail network fosters a relationship with the urban wild, giving form and expression to a new thick edge condition
Hayes | 23
FR ON
T
DO
OR
Thickening Strategies
(N
at
This new thick edge breaks down the existing riverto-land boundary by identifying land and water conditions and designing a trail, walk, and path network to address the systems associated with each. The four land and water conditions, as well as the resulting strategies, are as follows:
rb
or et
TID AL
)
US
GR OU
ND
CS
O
LA
ND
TO
TU
NN
WA TE
R
TR
AI
EL
KS
(D
C
tad
AM
Bo
ath
ou
se
G
D
(W at
ts
GR OU
)
B
ra n
ch (K ) en ilw
or
CR OS
SIN
l)
rsh
IN
IN AT E
ND
ne
Ma
SS
)
un
r th
CR O
NT AM
ium
rt
L(
CO
WA TER Wa te
lwo
RE
PEPCO Pla nt
(RF
Ken i
ST
Co urs e
Langston G
ER VIO
GR OU
ND
o lf
These four thickening strategies encourage the interaction of everyday activities and a renewed relationship to water, from recreation and experience to cultivation and ownership. With the trace of the trail, the ritualized journey of the walk, and the discovery of the path, the designs of these threshold conditions engage all five senses through shape, materiality, topography, direction, and gradients of the wild, to draw on visible and invisible processes in the river landscape.
IMP
G(
th
La
nd
Ana
cos
tia
fil
l)
trib uta
ry)
Ro w)
gton Gas
Washin
,PSHUYLRXV *URXQG Thickening by widening. At RFK Stadium, the trail widens and filters to accommodate different speeds of movement 7LGDO *URXQG: Thickening by encompassing. The trail highlights the marsh microtopography to accommodate different gradients of ecologies and moisture 7R[LF *URXQG Thickening by multiplying. At Kenilworth Landfill, the trail exaggerates topography, creating two ecologies that mark the remediation process :DWHU &URVVLQJ Thickening by meandering. At the River Terrace community, the trail meanders into three characters to foster and cultivate different types of learning
t development on rfr
P
lA
um
wa te
na
ark ia P ost ac An
sw
io
oplar Poin
t
FU
9 original sites
TU
RE
DE
tidal ground
VE
g llin Bo
e Fi
ld
LO P
toxic ground
ME
NT
impervious ground
(P op
lar
water crossing
Po in
t)
0
0.5
1 mile
A prototype: four thickening strategies respond to specific land to water conditions and are replicable across the Anacostia River as well as other urban rivers around the country. 24 | Hayes
nd
os
si
nd
w
at
to xi
c
er
gr
cr
ou
nd ou gr al tid Thicken by encompassing
ng
ou gr us rv io im pe Thicken by widening
Thicken by migrating
Thicken by meandering
Replicable thick edge typologies for four main ground conditions: impervious, tidal, toxic, and water crossing Hayes | 25
Heritage Island
RFK Stadium E Capitol St NE
wa ter
iver
Kin
gm a
nL
walk
ake
DC Armory
swale s
+ run
St. Coletta Charter School
Kin
nels
gm a
n Is
lan
d
ia R
water
Ana cos t
At RFK Stadium, a site slated for future development, the trail widens to filter different speeds of movement of water and people. The trail harnesses people from large sports events to trample, and thereby tend, plants growing on and along the trail. Here, the urban wild is most evident in the spontaneous vegetation, with gradients of wild expressed in the expanding and contracting bands of plants that, at times, narrow the designed with of the trail.
Eastern Senior High School
Imper vious Ground: Thicken by Widening
tra
il
Emergency Service Complex
0
RFK Stadium
200’
RFK Stadium + site for future development
400’
Independence Ave
parking lots
DISTANCE: 0.2 miles, 260 paces TIME: 4 min walk, 2 min jog, 1 min bike FREQUENCY: ephemeral events, sport seasons
boat
fish
watch
linger jog bike walk trample
play
tailgate
filter
26 | Hayes
50’
filter
0
prepare
less frequent, more impact
100’
The walk: grounded by RFK Stadium and large events, the walk connects the movement and rhythms of everyday life in the community to the trail and river
5 years
location
time + events
existing condition
water flow
at construction
widen to filter jogging widen to filter biking
10 years
5 years
widen to filter jogging
10 years
widen to filter lingering widen to filter lingering
rumble strips to slow down
major event
replace aslphalt with concrete
rumble strips to slow down
major event
trampled
replace aslphalt with concrete
off-season
trampled
The trail: conceptual and sequential cross section and notational sequence shows the construction and weathering of asphalt, concrete, and planted form
Hayes | 27
Process sketch of a trail design idea 28 | Hayes
slope away from river to increase infiltration time
regrade for better views
cantilevered concrete dock
spontaneous vegetation
+10 years
open views + access to river bike
+10 years jog fish
10’
12’
existing trail
bike lane “fast” lane
8’
36’
8’
jogger’s lane 0
4’
8’
This detail of the widened strategy for RFK Stadium ties together the detail construction and dimensions with everyday activities and experience Hayes | 29
RFK Stadium
trample vegetation
water
infiltrate
Game day on the River Trail!
30 | Hayes
pa th
path
These perspectives highlight the filtering of movement and change over time of the trail, as well as the strangely familiar aspects of the urban wild that are expressed through the relationship of spontaneous vegetation and the trampling from large events
Hayes | 31
+HP
Tidal ground: Thicken by Encompassing
Anacostia River +HP
At Kenilworth Marsh and Aquatic Gardens, the trail is designed to encompass flooding, registering and monitoring change on daily, annual, and generational time scales. Emphasizing micro-topography and marsh gradients, the trail splits around a central runnel, anticipating people moving aside to avoid low and wet spots. Designed with grooves that capture and guide water into the main, central runnel, the trail encourages the overlapping of hydraulic systems with human recreational activities. As the central runnel weathers its concrete base breaks down, the one trail may eventually split into two.
trail
walk
NPS Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
existi
Here, the urban wild is expressed in a landscape of risk and the fear of the land changing shape so quickly with the incoming tide. Furthermore, the runnel’s rhythm of high and low gives visitors a better sense the drastic differences in the micro-topography of a marsh condition.
200’
Kenilworth Marsh + Aquatic Gardens
400’
aquatic gardens
cultivate
plant
learn
watch
tide dependent
monitor sediment
kayak
flood
encompass
gauge water levels
swim
high tide
ng boar dwa lk
Kenilworth Landfill
0
low tide
+HP
+HP
DISTANCE: 0.5 miles, 660 paces TIME: 11 min walk, 6 min jog, 3.5 min bike FREQUENCY: tidal dependent
tide dependent
0
50’
100’
The walk: grounded by Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, the walk is accessible by foot at low tide and by kayak at high tide 32 | Hayes
existing condition
rt
l cha
y tida
low tide
gravel moss
n
at construction
inatio ntam
“safe to swim” level
co oring monit
weekl mud
high tide
shadows
trail splits into two to accommodate flood waters central runnel begins
floodplain
trail splits into two to accommodate flood waters
spring tide
at construction
shadows
floodplain
spring tide
1 year
1 year
stained
residual flood waters + sediment
stained
3 years
grooves hold water
residual flood waters + sediment
3 years
5 years
grooves hold water
trail narrows again as it moves to higher ground
The trail: conceptual and sequential cross section and notational sequence shows the construction and weathering of asphalt, concrete, and planted form Hayes | 33
Process sketches of trail design for tidal ground
34 | Hayes
overlapping systems
+10 years
river gauge
path
6’
10’ existing trail
6’
hydric plants mark walk
0
4’
8’
This detail of the encompassing strategy for Kenilworth marsh exaggerates microtopography and encourages the overlapping of systems Hayes | 35
swim once contamination levels drop
pa
th
The trail design plays with the microtopography of the marsh environment. Experimentation and monitoring are also incorporated into the walk design.
36 | Hayes
The relatively wetter concrete bed of the runnel, filled by precipitation and flooding events, gradually breaks down, overlapping recreational and ecological systems.
Hayes | 37
4.0
Lan
gst on G
il tra
3.0
reline
ic s
ia R
ho
ive r
Kin
gm a
n Is
lan
d+
At Kenilworth Landfill and Park, the trail is designed to reveal and mark the phased remediation process through a series of topographic asphalt trails that multiply, evolve, and break down from one edge of the landfill to the other. These trail berms emphasize the artifice of the site by exaggeration and creation of a two-faced condition: a remediated side and a contaminated side. These topographic trail berms separate and guide “clean” water that falls on the remediated site, separating it from the contaminated groundwater. A seed bank, cultivated by kids from Thomas Elementary School, heightens this contrast, highlighting the urban wild and the fear of the invisible.
il tra
trail 2.0
olf Co urs
e
To x i c G r o u n d : Thicken by Multiplying
Ana cos t
r to h is
Mayfair Neighborhood
.0
l1
ai tr
lk
wa Cezar Chaves Middle + High School Thomas Elementary School
fut
ure
tra
il
Educare
tin
g
tra
CS I-2 X 95 Ra ilw ay
ex is
PEPCO Benning Power Plant
il
0
200’
Kenilworth Landfill + Park
400’ “...in the mid-1960s I drove to work daily on Rt. 295 past the city dump located on the river just north of Benning Road. My route to work at that time took me across the bridge there every day... They were still burning the trash at that time. If the wind was blowing from the west.... it was not uncommon for the visibility to drop to near zero on the highway and to see flaming pieces of paper and debris flying through the air.” –John Nichols, 1 February 2013
Thomas Elementary School
school yard
play
1 year
plant seed bank
trample
cut back branches
monitor soil
remediate
cultivate plants
2 years
mountain bike
wander
remediate
explore
3 years
5 years
point of prospect
enclose
DISTANCE: 0.4 miles, 528 paces TIME: 10 min walk, 5 min jog, 3 min bike
phased frequency + impact
FREQUENCY: school year, afternoons
0
50’
100’
The walk marks the extent of the remediation process and fosters a relationship with Thomas Elementary School 38 | Hayes
no existing trail on site
narrows iplies +
new soil seed bank
two-faced trail condition: toxic vs remediated ecologies
trail mu
dividing + directin
ltiplies +
two-faced trail condition: toxic vs remediated ecologies
narrow
iated
is remed
months later
h as site
seeds sprout
wildflowers bloom
s in wid
dry
th as sit
1 year
trail multiplies to mark phased remediation process
spring
e is rem
summer
seeds sprout months later
in widt
dry
ediated
winter 2 years
fall
dry
at construction
trail mult
dividing + directin
no existing trail on site
at construction
new soil seed bank
wildflowers bloom
wet
trail multiplies to mark phased remediation process
1 year
3 years
trail becomes concrete at top of landfill watershed
wildflowers bloom on remediated side
dry
spring
5 years
summer
cracking
fall
winter 2 years
two ecologies become one
6 years
trail through forest canopy
As the trail multiplies with the phased remediation process, old sections weather and degrade, forming a landscape of palimpsests and multiple ecologies
dry
wet
trail becomes concrete at top of landfill watershed
Hayes | 39
process sketches
exaggerate topography for prospect + effect +5 years
+5 years: free play
watershed divide
cultivate
40 | Hayes
8’ concrete trail
+5 years: asphalt breaks down rocks for filtering add topsoil plant + cultivate
slope away from river concrete marker
12’ asphalt trail
watershed divide
path
0
4’
8’
This detail shows the designed exaggerated trail topography on this landfill condition Hayes | 41
school children cultivate seed bank
Phase I: trail heightens the contrast between remediated and toxic ground
42 | Hayes
path
Phase II: trail breaks down as landfill is remediated
Hayes | 43
PEPCO Benning Plant
Metro line
Water Crossing: Thicken by Meandering
Bennin
g Road
River Terrace Elementary School
Anacos
tia Rive
r
Signaling a culverted stream, a meandering group of trails mimics the pattern of the would-be stream and harnesses children’s play to interact with infrastructure. Connected to River Terrace Elementary, this schoolyard extension cultivates learning and highlights the urban wild of infrastructure, as the trail literally becomes immersed in concrete tunnels.
walk
tr ai
l
Kingman Lake
outfall CSO
River Terrace Neighborhood
hist oric
sh or eli ne
Kingman Island
Heritage Island
0
200’
River Terrace Park + Neighborhood
400’
DISTANCE: 0.15 miles, 200 paces TIME: 4 min walk, 2 min jog, 1 min bike FREQUENCY: school year, afternoons and summer 0
school yard play
file in line
trample
exercise
observe
learn
trample
play
immerse
engage
44 | Hayes
50’
100’
more frequent, less impact
The walk is an extension of River Terrace Elementary’s school yard, cultivating different styles of education
existing condition
l historic seawal culverted stream
observe + absorb
play + perform
prospect
bench
concrete extension
play + perform
concrete extension
engage + immerse
engage + immerse
low tide
low tide
high tide
high tide land to water
The trail meanders and changes its form and material to bring out the wild qualities of a culverted stream and, more generally, urban infrastructure
Hayes | 45
engage + immerse
play + perform
observe + absorb
This ideogram and detail section emphasize the three characters of the meandering trail
46 | Hayes
Conclusion
play + perform +10 years watch, play, relax
These four thickening strategies act as a catalyst and a guide for discovering the urban wild in our own backyards. This design thickens the experience of the river spatially, as well as thickens the interaction of everyday recreation by encouraging and guiding emergent activities, crucial ingredients in the metabolism of this urban river system. These initial design ideas are specific to the Anacostia yet can be replicable to other urban national parks and urban rivers across the county. This ever-evolving trail, walk, and path network, based on systems and multiple scales, transform a marginalized “thin park” status into a “thick edge” that capitalizes on the urban wild, thereby helping everyday visitors understand and appreciate the ever-changing dynamics and flows of this wild Anacostia Riverscape in the middle of their own city.
10’ 0
4’
8’
culverted stream
concrete trail
The infrastructure of this new trail segment encompasses a playspace that hints at the invisible culverted stream just below the surface of the ground
Hayes | 47
Design Process In addition to writing and discussing ideas with my professors and classmates, making is a key component of my design process. The following pages show several of the tools I consistently use in my studio projects, a process which has culminated in this design thesis: both rigorous and casual drawing and sketching methods, montaging, hand modeling, and diagramming.
PROCESS 48 | Hayes
As a parallel to my work on the Anacostia, I investigated the thin line and thick edge conditions of Meadow Creek in Charlottesville, VA through a series of drawings and diagrams
Hayes | 49
Coming up with a Strateg y For the mid-review, I explored different conditions along the Anacostia River Trail, selected for their unique site qualities (environmental, social, historical) and connections to cultural institutions in the community. Highlighting fluxes and flows of time, movement, and socio-ecological processes at each of these sites, a series of ideograms and study models begin to suggest material properties and changes as the typical asphalt path enters each threshold. Through these initial site studies, I came up with four main ground conditions and consequent strategies.
An
aco
stia
Ave SE
rk
or
OS
TI
A
RI
VE R
ilw
or
AN
AC
N
th
s rd wa to
th
Pa
n Ke
Riverview Terrace Community I-29 5`
bus stop
PEPCO Benning Plant
Fort Circle Parks system
K
WAL
infiltration creeping vegetation
culverted stream historical tributary
50 | Hayes
PLANTED FORM: whisping grasses
nta
neo
us
MATERIALS: rhythmic ground plane
drifts
signals movement
guides views casts shadows
smooth
contrasting
hollow
reflecting
vibrating
signaling
crunching
spo
secretive
topographic
trampled
historical seawall
pro
pog a
PATH contaminants in sediment
TRAIL
tion
3’ tidal
STREAM CROSSING
FRONT DOOR
Mayfair neighborhood
(Watts Branch Restoration)
(National Arboretum) water
and
llect
le co
peop
from
___?
light
cted refle
Arbo
retum
entra
riparian buffer
Hayes Street
slices through natural levee
water collection PLANTED FORM: “runoff” vegetation
be
d
MATERIALS: suggest speed + movement
bump
bump
ht
air
shady
linger
lig
nce
ol
co
runoff
PLANTED FORM: damp, cool + dappled
ro
ss
trac
stre or ed
il
shady
rays of light
flood tolerant
cool
vibrating
metal reflecting
wide gaps
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
m
diu
t’s
ra
(Poplar Point)
X CS
turf
dry
buffer
creeping
ac
ia
cost to Ana
PLANTED FORM: grasses maintained by movement
wet
idge
turf
br
pavers
Tr ail
permeable
MATERIALS: permeable + amphibious
(Boathouse Row)
strips
rest
ble
historic seawall
display
rum slow down !
trampled
LAND TO WATER TRAIL
spontaneous propogation
rumble strips
shadows
am
MATERIALS: durable + flood resilient
Seafarer’s Club
to
Sta
Na
ks Anacostia Community Boathouse
ith
Sm ate W
ing
watershed divide
k
bike
sh
wal
3’ tidal
wa
run
at
bo
perforate edge: private + public
transition land to water trail
vegetative
barrier
creeping vegetation
future development: manage all water on-site
sloping trail
historic seawall
riverscape
development
signal
marker
steps podium wall breezy
shaded
dappled light
rhythmic
threshold
geometric
registers speed
No
changing density
PLANTED FORM: two ecologies
?
PLANTED FORM: creeping, filtering, guiding
flexible
asphalt
ll
concrete
rom Ma
permeable
WALK f
rhythmic breaks scalable
(RFK Stadium)
MATERIALS: geometric, rhythmic, scalable
CSO TUNNEL
rth
monumental allee
MONUMENTAL SCALE
MATERIALS: a watershed divide
directional
re tu
sig
na
lin
g
fu
ste ps
low ground fillscape
another seawall?
to lin g de er ve lo pm
en
t
CSO outfall
r
ge
transition railway to trail
barrier to water runoff
il
infiltration
K
ra rT
WAL
watershed divide
proposed development
hn
prospect
lin
contaminated ground
dredged land
Jo
cre ep vege ing tation
to K
RF
(DC Water Tunnel Construction)
allee stadium smells + sounds
drop shaft
Anacost
ia
cuts in asphalt RFK parking lot
filtering runoff
oriental bittersweet
An
ac
os
tia
swale + bramble
disturbed ground
swale + bramble
el
nn
TRAIL
overflo w
tu
water
+
drop shaft 55’ diameter circumnavigate
te
tailga
l trai
linger
PATH
24 0’
,00
MATERIALS: smooth and monotone
open views
harvestable
remediating
to Boa thou South
inescapable funnelling screening
invasive barrier
bright color
curved
monotone
concrete
impermeable smooth
historic marsh edge narrative
PLANTED FORM: remediating plants
high growth rate
runnel
weathered
MATERIALS: impermeable
capping
TRAIL
TH
contaminants in ground
impermeable
ck to ba ho ldin g
trampled revealed
gr
ou
nd
TH
PA
I-295
landfill edge narrative
PA contaminants in ground
K
contaminants in ground
TRAIL
xic
contaminants seep into sediment
historic shoreline edge narrative
keep hydrolic system separate from toxic ground
Anacostia
historic seawall
TRAIL
trail and path migrate/expand as ground is remediated
26’ diameter tunnel for stormwater overflow
s lain eP
3’ tidal
WAL
Blu
trail and path migrate/expand as ground is remediated
an Br
from
ch
ts Wat
el
se Row
PLANTED FORM: invasive, constraining bramble
n
atio stor
Re
tunn
Mayfair Neighborhood
(Kenilworth Landfill)
long
CONTAMINATED GROUND
Model and diagram explorations of different trail conditions and potential designs along the Anacostia
Hayes | 51
Sketching + Diagramming
52 | Hayes
yr
yr 500
10 yr
100
typ.
2 yr
source
trail water, people, wildlife
contamination trail
“worn by passage,” “beaten”
y
hydrological: floodplain trail
walk
x x
x
“distance defined by length of time”
“a journey” between landmarks
“A ritual walk”
? shortest distance
one crossing
side destination
light/temperature
obstruction
mystery
prospect/refuge (edge)
ground condition
path topography
multiple/equal means
diagramming design opportunities from the definitions of the words “trail,” “walk,” and “path” Hayes | 53
Wild Washing ton As the Dumbarton Oaks Landscape Architecture Intern this summer (2013), I have expanded on my thesis work to research the idea of a Wild Anacostia as it is part of a larger wild network, or a Wild Washington. In addition to digging deep into the definitions and history of the words “wilderness” and “wild,” I have directed my summer research towards envisioning an alternative perspective of Washington D.C., this “Wild Washington,” articulated through the recognition and expression of the urban wild. It’s a wild that can be discovered across scales and modes: from a fox crossing Rock Creek Parkway to the Great Falls on the Potomac to a dandelion growing from a crack in the pavement. It is a wild that is not only found in plants and animals, but in stormwater, topography, and social behavior. And it is a wild that can be discovered and recognized in aspects of our everyday lives. Dumbarton Oaks’ relationship to corridors, topography, water, and its proximity and integration with Rock Creek Park, make it a particularly interesting case study within a “Wild Washington.” A hybrid, at the edge of a social and ecological spectrum, Dumbarton Oaks is an integral part of this wild network.
Urban wild palette emphasizing cyclical change over time
ONGOING RESEARCH 54 | Hayes
A matrix of patches and corridors, across multiple scales, help make up a Wild Washington
Hayes | 55
THE WILD ANACOSTIA By Kate Hayes
56 | Hayes