02 Thesis: From Grave to Cradle

Transforming the Wasteland into a Living Mechanism

SITE: Keegan Landfill, Kearny Town, New Jersey

TYPE: Individual Work, Thesis

Instructor: Prof. Brian Katen

DATE: 2019.8-2020. 5

2020 VA ASLA Student Commendation in General Design

2020 Stanley Abbott Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Thesis

A landfill is the most common and cheapest form of dumping waste with many environmental impacts involving space problems, toxic emissions, and poisonous leachate that may contaminate groundwater. In recent years, the landfill-to-park project is a widespread trend globally by repurposing conventional landfills into new amenities for nearby residents. With such revitalizations, the wastelands can be the legacy of constant promotion of urbanizations.

The site, the Keegan landfill, is located in Meadowlands, which is known for being the site of notable burials and decades of environmental abuse. The landfill is adjacent to the Kearny Marsh and a wilderness of industrial blocks. Thus, the landfill and industrial areas are both pollution resources for the marsh and neighborhoods. The thesis redefines the landfill’s identity innovatively to transform the wasteland into a living mechanism by constructing several wetlands as filters to rehabilitate a diverse ecosystem between human activities and wildlife habitats and serve as a valuable teaching model for sustainable townscape transformations.

The design proposes three systems to solve individually but have mutual effects and reciprocal actions to lead the revitalization with new wildlife habitats and an ecological park responding to community activities. The first one, located near the western side of the industrial area, would treat the nearby industrial runoff contaminants. The second one, a terraced wetland, would function as a resilient infrastructure to collect the overflow under extreme weather. The final one would be integrated into a regenerative system near the wastewater treatment facility is to safely manage runoff from the whole site to prevent overflow pollution from reaching the marsh. There will be various programs of the matic experiences among visitors, such as discovering, learning, and reflecting will be the final destina tion to allow people to meander in the marsh to observe and reflect.