Production of Ecology
2015

Drawings speculating on a significant site in North St. Louis
A proposal for a productive park, that also honors a tumultuous history

At the time of this studio, all that was left of the Pruitt-Igoe Homes was Dickson Street, which racially segregated the public housing project when it opened in 1955. Pruitt-Igoe soon desegregated, but declined in the 1960s due to poor civic management. The housing development was demolished and cleared from 1972–76. 

By 2014, the site had become a thick emergent woodland. I developed a process for phasing a productive park that would honor its many-layered history. First, soil testing identifies highly contaminated areas. It is suspected that rampant dumping on this site brought PCBs and lead. Next, existing trees with high value are kept, while less valuable trees are cut. A new forest is propagated over time, with hardwood tree species generating revenue and material for the rehabilitation of aging housing stock in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Starting as saplings in the Nursery Swales, hardwood trees would become a managed forest, eventually financially supporting the park and the restoration of historic housing in adjacent neighborhoods.

Cast Remediation patios would host barbecues and other events. Wherever testing suggests safer soils could support ecological restoration and experimentation.