Fulton Gas Works Historical, Cultural, and Ethnographic Meanings of Site [re]-activating the urban fabric
Fulton site images
University of Virginia 路 MArch Post-Professional 路 Architectural Thesis abby marie chryst 路 Fulton Gas Works 路 Richmond, Va.
Site Context connections
Fulton aerial map
The city of Richmond, highlighting the gas works and a main artery—Broad Street.
“When preservationists think of cultural landscapes, they usually regard them as something resulting from the impact of human activity on a natural environment.” “Culture is the agent, the natural area is the medium, the cultural landscape the result.” - Cultural Landscapes; Julie Riesenweber
Site Context abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
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What ? Thesis Statement
Throughout this thesis, I would like to explore the [re]generation, [re]activation, and [re]connection of the Fulton Gas Works site as a focal point within the urban context of the city of Richmond.
Introduction abby marie chryst 路 Fulton Gas Works 路 Richmond, Va.
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Fulton Gas Works the site—now derelict
Fulton—the now derelict site
Future Projections — Next Steps abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
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Project Ideals Abstract The city of Richmond contains a prosperous historical past, connected to industry and affluent figures influential in the community at large.
The design thesis focuses on mapping the different typologies, conditions, and programs of the site through time; deriving new form from past histories of place.
Fulton Gas Works, now derelict, was once a prominent life force of the city, providing manufactured gas in the form of energy to all reaches of Richmond. This once focal entity of the city, has become disengaged, separated, and blighted from the urban context that surrounds the site.
The new forms designed at the site and connections made here, will create new meaning for this place within the context of the city; while simultaneously explicating the past histories relevant to the site and their broader connections to Richmond.
Throughout this thesis, I would like to explore the [re]generation, [re]activation, and [re]connection of the Fulton Gas Works site as a focal point within the urban context of the city of Richmond.
Three areas of connection will be explored; those of the Fulton Gas Works site, its relation to Chimborazo Park above, and the economic connections between Fulton and the Armitage Coal Tar Manufacturing Company.
This process of reactivation will revitalize the urban waterfront, as well as renew social connections and urban life within this area of the city.
The proposed design will combine artist studios and gallery space within the site of Fulton; a combination of housing and commercial spaces in the old Armitage Manufacturing Co. building, and landscape connections from the gas works to Chimborazo, as well as within Fulton as a site.
This thesis explores methods of overlay, mapping, and ethnography as a process of peeling back the layers of the site to regenerate new form.
Abstract abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
“ Rather than taking any architectural fragment and making it stand for the whole cultural history (the literary device of metonymy), I propose looking again at the whole cultural history, the environmental, social and historical experience, and asking, how can this concrete, material reality best be explored as the basis of a new architectural, vernacular language? The components are the natural landscape, the surrounding built environment, the lived experience, varying by gender, class, ethnicity and race, of religion, education, work and politics. All of these could be part of a potential language of American place-making, based on popular communication...” - Dolores Hayden
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Why This Place? Potential When I begin to ask why, I find myself actually asking why not ? There is great potential at the site of the old Fulton Gas Works to revitalize Richmond’s waterfront. Physical and historical connections begin to create a dialogue with Fulton below and Chimborazo Park above.
similar issues (brownfields and superfunds) in other cities; which creates an overall connection to other places. Physically, Fulton is connected to the entire city, through infrastructure. Here is a site, that literally reached out to all ends of the city, and made connections.
There is a potential here, to [re]connect Fulton with the park, as well as incorporate the Chimborazo/ Oakwood historic district, making connections to the residential edge surrounding the park. There is overall potential, then, to engage the entire city of Richmond and its visitors, by elucidating the arts, culture, and history of this area— especially the site of the once focal and powerful industrial energy source of the city—Fulton Gas Works.
“The historic buildings in a community are tangible links with the nation’s past that help provide a sense of identity and stability that is often missing in this era of constant change .... Preservation is an anchor that keeps communities together and re-establishes pride and economic vitality.” - Icons and Aliens; John J. Costonis
Many cities contain pockets of blight similar to the site at Fulton. There is this sense of overall connection to
Reasoning—Why? abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
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Design Intent
Proposal | Program The intention of the proposed deigns are to: (1) Reconnect this site with the rest of the city, and re-link the historical ties that have been lost present day. (2) Create a revitalized waterfront, historic and residential community, re-linking the site and these connections to Richmond. I am proposing a series of structures for the site at Fulton, to include connections between the remnants left on site, as well as creating new programmatic spaces combining landscape and [re]connections to Chimborazo Park up above. This design will include reinstating the landscape connections that used to lead to Fulton, creating a historical dialogue between the sites and viewer. The main focus of the design project attempts to connect the Fulton Gas Works structures, on site, developing an artist’s residence for visiting artists within the remaining structures on site as well as artists located within
the city. The old boiler room has the potential to be a gallery space; where the artists curate exhibits and can also sell their work. The site of the old Armitage Manufacturing Company, is proposed to develop into a mixture of housing and commercial spaces; in an effort to regenerate the now lost neighborhood that once surrounded the gas works. This program would include both renters and owners, incorporating different combinations of economic wealth. The ability to rent or own could potentially incorporate students who attend Virginia Commonwealth University. The methodologies I am using to regenerate these forms, are established through the utilization of previous lines of site, working from mappings; as well as site overlaps and histories. I am also focusing on historical and ethnographic approaches to supplement my design research.
tions, new form will be derived and incorporated into the site combining landscape, utilization of the remaining structures on site, and the design of the new programmatic function(s) and connections.
programmable space
Through the extensions of the site over time, and mapping these connec-
Statement of Design Intent abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
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Lexicons language
community; sensorial; layers; dialogue; narrative; character; disparity; scale; activate; [re]activation; cultural landscape; synesthesia; focal; node, void; ; regeneration; palimpsest; ethnography; collective memory; coalesce; superimposition; temporality; derelict; experience
Lexicons & Terminology abby marie chryst 路 Fulton Gas Works 路 Richmond, Va.
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Lexicons language narrative: Oxford Dictionaries: (nar·ra·tive) a spoken or written account of connected events; a story: from late Latin narrativus ‘telling a story’ Within my project, I propose that the narrative is derived from methodologies such as ethnography, research of the history and meaning of place, and a woven story of facts and occurrences through time. I see this as both a written story, but then as a design story, where the physical world can also tell a story pertaining to changes through time through combining forms, mapping, and diagrams. cultural landscape: Oxford Dictionaries: (cul·tu·al land·scape) a distinct geographical area or property uniquely “...represent[ing the combined work of nature and of man...” My references to a cultural landscape pertain to the deeply embedded social narratives and
histories of a site, that me be peeled back in layers in order to reveal a narrative and a dialogue between the place and the viewer.
sense ‘bring together, unite’): from Latin coalescere, from co- (from cum ‘with’) + alescere ‘grow up’ (from alere ‘nourish’)
experience: Oxford Dictionaries: (ex·pe·ri·ence) practical contact with and observation of facts or events; an event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone; encounter or undergo (an event or occurrence); feel (an emotion) — from Latin experientia, from experiri ‘try’
I see this as something that can be concerned with words and syntax, but also with physical form and overlaps within these forms. It is also this idea within a project, that this is the point where all of the ideas swirling around come together, at a specific point. This coalescence then becomes a foci of the project.
Experience can be on a rather personal level in a lot of cases, but often times knowingly or unknowingly, people have collective experiences. I’m interested in this idea of experience in the personal realm then being taken and shared so that it becomes more of a collective experience, where the experience creates another experience. coalesce: Oxford Dictionaries: (co·a·lesce) come together and form one mass or whole — mid 16th century (in the
Lexicons | Terminology abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
ethnography: Oxford Dictionaries: (eth·nog·ra·phy) the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures
pening. It also refers to the study of culture, and being in and amongst (close observation) of a group of people, culture, and a society. I also extend this into the “historical ethnography” realm. regenerative: Oxford Dictionaries: (re·gen·er·ate) bring into renewed existence; generate again — from Latin regeneratus ‘created again’ In my work, I’m referring to creating some thing new that grows from the past, from previous structure, land, etc.; so that the generation of new form represents its conception.
Ethnography most directly relates to Clifford Geertz’s explanation of “Thick Description” of people and place, as a methodology for weaving or telling a story, a rich narrative of a place so that others who are not involved, but looking in from the outside can understand what is hap-
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Site Histories connections | Part I: Fulton The site of the once Fulton Gas Works, now sits derelict, out of use, and thought. The gas works began in the early 1850’s, working with a coal gas carbonization process to create manufactured gas. Gas usage rose steadily during its beginning stages. Not long however, the environment and the people living in the Fulton neighborhood, became aware of the consequences of having a gas plant in almost your backyard. The noxious odors were hard to ignore, and the harmful waste that was making its way into the river was stripping paint off of the boats there. The gas works went through many trials and tribulations throughout its history in the city of Richmond. For one, repairs needed to be made every few years, however, decisions were not made hastily enough and the gas plant slipped farther and farther into disrepair. Not only were these issues adding to the nuisance, but a newer process of creating manufactured gas, called the Carburreted Water
Gas Process, was not adopted until 1920 at Fulton. This process insured that the gas would reach households, but at the cost of using crude oil, which was a large contaminant. Some of the most dangerous and contaminated areas on the site include areas where the gas holders sat, the purifiers were located, and where there was use of coal and coal storage. The dirty and noxious plant held on however, even in the advent of electricity; and the superintendant of the gas works at the time even stated that manufactured gas was the way to go, and in many ways “they still held a club above the electricity company’s head.” Due to the site being situated in the flood plain, it had been overwhelmed by flooding many times. There were floods in 1886, 1887, as well as consecutively in 1935, 36, and 37, and then again 1940. In the 1936 flood, the boiler and pump room, which had at the time been situated on ground level, was flooded and had
Site History and Context abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
to be replaced. They constructed a new boiler room in 1937, which was elevated 16 feet off of the ground, out of the flood plain. The building itself rose to 72 feet from ground to the top of the roof. After World War II, advances in metallurgy, transportation, and the bad reputation the nation’s gas works had acquired over the years, gave way for newer forms and uses of energy such as natural gas. In 1950, Richmond began conversion over to natural gas.
Fulton, bird’s eye view source: skyshots.com
On November 27, 1950, Richmond had entirely converted to natural gas, and the Fulton Gas Works was shut down. By 1951, Fulton was converted to natural gas as well. In June of 1972, Hurricane Agnes made her way to Fulton, and the damage was irreparable, and Fulton was shut down for good.
site: overall relationships
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Site Histories connections | Part 2: Chimborazo Park Chimborazo Park, overlooking the James and above the gas works, has an eclectic and diverse history, which ranges from its use, pre-park, as farm land and grazing fields, to a social enclave, called a “suburban resort” built up by a distinct residential edge, to the site of the Chimborazo Hospital during the Civil War. Cobblestone pathways, originally created between the 1770’s and 1880’s were used to connect Chimborazo Hill, at the time, to the fresh blowing breezes of the James, as well as framing the “commanding view” over the city as seen from the top. During the Civil War, the Confederate soldiers utilized these pathways; and as they connected to Fulton, there are also direct ties from the gas works below to the park above. Today, these pathways disappear into woodlands beforereaching the gas works site.
to create healthy ventilation. These structures covered the site, as well as a large bakery that supplied bread to this hospital as well as the other 27 war hospitals in Richmond. After the Civil War, the Freedman’s Bureau under direction from Lincoln, took over the site, and created schools for illiterate blacks and freed slaves. Some of the these freed slaves, who had no where else to go, took shelter in these structures as well. A weather bureau was erected on the site in 1909 and operated until 1959. Today this building is the visitor center for the Battlefield park, also known as Chimborazo.
Chimborazo Park Aerial
During the Civil War, the Chimborazo Hospital consisted of 150 one story, wood frame structures measuring 40 ft. by 150 ft., spaced evenly apart images, top down: hospital marker, model of Chimborazo Hospital, Fulton from park, visitor center (old weather bureau, and cobblestone pathways
Site History and Context abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
site: overall relationships
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Site Histories connections | Part 3: Old Armitage Manufacturing Company The old Armitage Manufacturing Company building, owned by William C. Armitage, drew economic ties, historically, with the Fulton Gas Works below. The company was a coal tar manufacturer. One of the major by-products, or waste products in this case, from the gas works was tar. The Armitage Manufacturing Company was able to utilize this waste product by producing creosote oils, roofing and building papers, roof paints and coatings, crude carbolic acid, black varnish, pitch, and ammonia, etc.
old Armitage Manufacturing building
(Found in Hill’s Richmond City Directory, 1900, pg 62.)
Armitage Manufacturing Company newspaper ads source: The Richmond Times, March of 1901; Oct., 1903
Site History and Context abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
site context, relationship to Fulton
site: overall relationships
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Influences case studies | Gas Works Park—Seattle, WA. One major case study that I have been investigating, is that of Gas Works Park, in Seattle, Wa. Here, issues of the sublime, natural and cultural landscapes, as well as ideas surrounding site remediation, and post-industrial park space resonate. What I am interested in exploring through this case study are issues related to the sublime, but then creating a juxtaposition between this ideal and park space, as a social connection and construct.
grew to love the site and decided to completely restructure the campaign in order to “save” the gas works. Situated on the Northern shore of Lake Union, the adaptive re-use park questions that of traditional park space, preservation, and in many ways begins to re-socialize derelict industrial sites, in a post-industrial context.
The park, which opened in 1975, and designed by Richard Haag, was developed in a way in which there is minimal site transformation. Many of the remaining industrial artifacts of the gas plant were left on site, and remediation processes of the landscape were undertaken, to progressively rid the site of toxins.
Seattle Gas Works Aerial
The original plan that the city was in the process of undertaking, actually called for the removal of the plant entirely from the site, completely negating the history enveloped there. Haag, Seattle Gas Works images; source: Google Images
Theory and Methodology abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
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Influences case studies | Landschaftspark; Duisburg-Nord—Germany Similar to Gas Works Park, Seattle; Duisburg Nord re-utilizes an industrial landscape in a post-industrial context; but does so in a difference sense. The park, completed in 2002, has an industrial history of an old steel mill factory. Peter Latz + Partners designed the landscape park. As much of the existing site as possible has been preserved, and incorporated into the design are woven different areas of activation and program within the site. This plan was devised by working off of the initial sewer and railways systems, and the paths they had previously woven into the site.
different sections of the park create a dialogue with the viewer, framing certain historical aspects. Programs infused into the site include, bunkers that create spaces for private gardens, old gas tanks are being utilized as scuba pools, left concrete walls are being utilized as rock climbing spaces, the main office of the steel mill has been turned into a piazza space, and many events are held within the park as well.
Working from Postmodernism ideals, memory plays a critical role in the design of the park, as such paths were designed to tell a story, a narrative about the spaces, and the artifacts left behind, those of the industrial steel mill.
Duisburg-Nord Aerial
Other issues that interest me about this site, are the ways in which the Duisburg-Nord images; source: Google Images
Theory and Methodology abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
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Site Context explorations
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Mappings of Fulton Gas Works structures and surrounding residential and industrial uses
Context | Explorations abby marie chryst 路 Fulton Gas Works 路 Richmond, Va.
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Site Context explorations
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Mappings of Fulton Gas Works highlighting the decline in residential uses over time (green)
Context | Explorations abby marie chryst 路 Fulton Gas Works 路 Richmond, Va.
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Design Diagrams site extensions | Fulton, Chimborazo, Armitage Building
Chimborazo main axis; site lines
Program and Function abby marie chryst 路 Fulton Gas Works 路 Richmond, Va.
Armitage building site lines
mappings of extensions of axis and site lines intersecting and connecting programmatic spaces
combination site lines and main axis
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Directives steps | questions · Delving deeper into programmatic issues on site
· What are the impediments of the design/thesis proposal?
· Focusing on unlocking site histories and dialogues.
· How is this design project viable in multiple ways?
· Looking into the effects of the flood plain on the site.
· What are the zoning implications, and can they benefit the community somehow or be reinterpreted?
· Weaving a narrative about this place that focuses on dense and thick contextual dialogues. · Creating a way to highlight the dynamic evolution through time of the city and its spaces, which when overlapped, revealed, and combined creates a narrative of change, and looking at ways in which to explicate the history through experience(s). Questions: · What implications are there in adaptive re-use and the idea of bringing artists/artisans into a postindustrial site where the context was unrelated?
· How can the site be functional and affordable for the desired users?
December 2010: - a clear direction of where the program and design is headed, mapped out and diagrammed. - a cohesive written document, that contains the site histories, connections, and overlaps, combined with new programmatic functions - developing some more case studies
· Should soil remediation be a focus of the design concerning the landscape spaces? · Who else should I talk to about these ideas/propose questions to? · Would talking to some artist communities already established in Richmond, or singular artists help my design process? · Are there other areas of industry that could benefit from this design, and a revitalization of the waterfront?
Future Projections — Next Steps abby marie chryst · Fulton Gas Works · Richmond, Va.
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