Cutout Pier represents a democratic, collaged approach to park making. Situated along the picturesque, though somewhat overdeveloped Delaware River edge, the park seeks to bring the visitor into the present as well as the past.
To respond to centuries of industrial waste and contamination on the site yet provide tree cover and shade in the concrete jungle of Fishtown, soil is mounded onto the site in vulnerable areas to allow for robust planting. Instead of pouring concrete or sourcing new materials, the site recycles itself, using its plentiful jersey barriers as retaining walls, and its unstable concrete edges as seating and topography. The planting schedule works similarly, with a significant portion of its flora being found on-site.
The park’s footprint is molded by its history; seen in the unearthed or suggested railroad tracks and surface materials, like locust & stone bricks, exposed aggregate, and when foundations are dug up and used as planting implements. The pier acknowledges its present moment, too – its current proliferation of delinquency and graffiti is incorporated, and encouraged, into the shaping. The park is programmed for the people and will continue to be programmed by the people.
Fishtown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania