2017 Annual WASLA Conference

Spokane Convention Center, April 21, 2017
One Day, Dynamic Sessions, Ultimate Location

3:15-4:15 PM
Beyond Artifacts: Other Considerations in the Creation of Historically Sensitive Places

Description:

Preservation and restoration are surely noble pursuits. However, in many cases historic sites have few preservable artifacts. Often the structures have been removed, are degraded or otherwise unsafe, and sometimes the historic use created a toxic environment requiring a blank slate. Despite the lack of physical relics reflecting the site’s historic narrative, it is possible to carry those stories forward. And actually, doing so can create a more genuine richness and vibrancy to the place that might otherwise feel foreign or disconnected. This panel will discuss several projects with deep histories and the design process which led to maintaining and enhancing the “magic and mystery” of those places.

Lead Speaker

Clayton Beaudoin

Speaker Bios:

Clayton Beaudoin, ASLA, Principal, Site Workshop
Clayton takes many things seriously, but perhaps nothing more seriously than play. Whether leading volunteer-based neighborhood projects or some of the region’s largest, most technically complex open space development’s, Clayton instills a playfullness in his work that never fails to yield fruitful surprises. To that end, he has led the development of more than 15 PNW parks and playgrounds including Seattle’s Kirke and Northacres Parks and Wright Park in Tacoma. Clayton received his MLA from University of Washington and is a Registered Landscape Architect in Washington State.

Melissa McGinnis, Historic and Cultural Resource Manager, Metro Parks Tacoma
Melissa is responsible for the protection, enhancement and sharing of the historic assets and associated stories of Metro Parks Tacoma. She is an accomplished speaker and co-author of three books on Tacoma’s historic parks. She regularly advises on development of historic properties in Tacoma and has created public programming for some of the region’s most significant historic landscapes. Melissa has a degree in History from the University of West Florida.

Adam Kuby
Adam’s works are collaborations with the built and natural world that foster a sense of connectedness in our increasingly fractured environment. Each site offers the chance to explore how human and non-human ecologies can better coexist through parallel layers of meaning and purpose, and contemporary placemaking. He’s collaborated with many landscape architects including Site Workshop and Greenworks. He’s studied and worked in the fields of landscape architecture, sculpture, urban forestry, zoo habitat design and landscape restoration. He grew up in Philadelphia and lives in Portland, Oregon.

Jim Keller, Principal, Site Workshop
Proud to be a Washington Native, Jim Keller enjoys each season that the Pacific Northwest provides with equal enthusiasm especially as the cold lowland rains and early nightfall bring deep winter snows to the Cascade Range. Jim graduated from Washington State University in 1994 with a degree in landscape architecture and has spent his entire career living and working in Seattle. Jim thrives on detail and the big idea. Translating these ideas into detailed solutions through brainstorming sessions with colleagues is a big reason Jim truly enjoys his career as a Landscape Architect.

Learning Objectives:

Gain an understanding of how historic use or processes might be used to extend stories from the past into the present and beyond.
Aquire a basic understanding of the opportunities and challenges associated with designing public parks in places with complex histories.
Interact with designers and historians striving to maintain site vibrancy across time.

21.APRIL.2017

Where History Meets Nature

Spokane Convention Center
Spokane, WA