Gas Works Park
In 1906 on a peninsula on the north shore of Lake Union the Seattle Gas Company constructed a coal gas plant. By 1956 the plant was shut down, leaving behind the old refinery towers. Upon purchasing the land in 1970, Haag was the person asked to develop a park design for the site. While most planners had expected the demolition of the refinery towers, Haag decided to keep them†. He did not incorporate them into the design for historic purposes, but rather to "...provide an interesting visual anchor for the park design" (Washington).
While convincing city government to accept this radical plan was challenging enough, Haag also had to develop a design which also integrated bioremediation methods in order to detoxify the soil without transporting and replacing it. "By adding oil-degrading enzymes to the soil, as well as organic materials to fertilize the growth of soil microorganisms, Haag and colleagues stimulated the natural breakdown of toxic contaminants in the topsoil..." left behind by the ancient industrial processes of the plant (Washington).
Today, regardless of the continued environmental issues, the site is one of the most popular public parks in Seattle. This site is also a symbol of the increased awareness of ecology and sustainability in both landscape and architectural design. Before Richard Haag was even asked to develop this design, he submitted the site as a design problem to a national undergraduate design competition. All 130 designs removed all indications that a gas plant ever existed. Haag took the environmentalist ideal to another level; acknowledging the potential aesthetics of industrial structures without the hazard to the environment. The ecology-based development is evident both in his designs and in the University of Washington Landscape Architecture program, the focus of which is defined as 'urban ecology'. His design for Gas Works Park brought Haag his first American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) President's Award for Design Excellence.
Read more about this topic: Richard Haag
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