Boeing Longacres Industrial Park
Boeing Longacres Industrial Park
LOCATION
Renton, Washington
CLIENT
The Boeing Company
Completion Date
1994
architect
Skidmore Owings & Merrill, San Francisco
TypE
Parks and Gardens
Campuses
Master Planning
Waterfront
Ecological Restoration
Description
Longacres Park, a 212-acre former race-track site near Seattle, was transformed into a “wetlands/office park”. PWP worked with a team of architects, master planners, and a wetland ecologist to minimize the impact of the development and to restore function to the ecological systems.
Water was a key component of the landscape design, which began with the reconnection of existing water bodies on site and restoration of the natural flow patterns. Water elements were created, including a new wetland, a new six-acre lake, a four-acre marsh, and new streams and ponds. This system retains storm water, filters run-off, and provides important habitat for flora and fauna. Extensive naturalistic reforestation at the edges transitions into a geometric forest. The rows of native evergreen and deciduous trees reference the local agricultural past while providing habitat.
Two permeable paths carefully designed to provide framed views of the ecologically sensitive and protected areas, allow human participation in these ecosystems from a protective distance.
collaborators
Engineers: Sverdrup
Wetland Ecologist: L.C. Lee & Associates
