Meadowlands National Park
Proposal for National Park in a co-constructed landscape of contradictions
with Olly Hoy
Core IV: Back of the Fridge
critic Tei Carpenter
Spring 2024
Meadowlands, NJ
Site Model
Many have seen the meadowlands for what it could be, few see it for what it is; an undeniably entropic zone of entangled infrastructures. This marshland, bound by its urban system, has resisted direct development, proving too swampy - physically and politically - to build on. Nevertheless, the city finds ways to pierce networks through it, drilling tunnels, disposing of waste, and dredging its brackish waters.
We argue that the meadowlands is not only a place to transit through, but to transit to. A site to bear witness to a new and changing nature. This co-constructed infrastructural landscape is a candid portrait of contemporary human-natural interrelationships. This is the shape of our national parks to come.
Research
Snake HillE-1 LandfillWater UnderpassGreat American Mall
Hackensack RiverkeeperNew YorkerGreat Blue HeronResident of Kearny
River Keeper BoathouseE-1 Landfill OutpostWater TheaterThatch Street
Proposal
National Park Poster
River Keeper Boathouse
The Hackensack River supported vital fisheries from the time Lenni Lenape people first settled on its bank’s thousands of years ago until the late 19th Century. Following the European colonization and the establishment of the United States, the river suffered centuries of pollution, damming, wetlands destruction, and massive overdevelopment – all of which rendered the river’s tidal reaches a toxic dead zone. Since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, the genesis of the Waterkeeper movement in the 1980s, and the founding of Hackensack Riverkeeper in 1997 – and with the collaboration of federal, state, and local partners, the Hackensack River has begun to recover.
E-1 Landfill Outpost
Though it may not seem that way now, NJMC E-1 Landfill was once the largest landfill in the United States. Initially used to dump the unwanted outputs of hog farming, then manufacturing waste, and finally common household trash, this landfill contains a treasure trove of history beneath your feet. When excavating for the outpost, archaeologists uncovered everything from first-gen Macintosh computers to native american canoe paddles. Visitors are encouraged to wander around the park, meet fellow park goers over a meal at the Canteen, or enjoy an evening archaeologiist’s lecture before a magnificient Meadowlands sunset.
Water Theater
The Water Theater, on the NorthWest corner of the park, is a floating outdoor events and learning center, open from May through September. During the week, the theater is utilized by eco-remediation researchers to study wetland flora and fauna. Over the weekend, the space is used to host events ranging from concerts to movie screenings to dance parties. Come by kayak, by foot, or ferry shuttle, and don’t forget your life vest!
Thatch Street
Given that the site was overtaken by nonnative phragmite reeds, we chose to view this species as a resource rather than an impediment. We admired the sense of calm phragmites provides as it muffles sound from nearby highways and gently sways with the breeze. We utilized phragmites to design thatch roofs and walls for all of our buildings, imagining the process of thatching to be communal and intrinsic to life in the Meadowlands.
We designed the housing units to host an array of needs, from single family to three bedroom, hoping to attract a diverse group of people excited about life on Thatch Street.