Wood Mill | Lawrence, MA

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The renovation of 2 million square feet of an abandoned Mill building (approximately one third of a mile long) into a new mixed retail and residential neighborhood in Lawrence represents a significant moment in the renaissance of this once powerful industrial center of the Merrimack Valley. The linear 6 story building, known as the Wood Mill is situated along the southern bank of the Merrimack River and affords wonderful views to the north and toward downtown Lawrence. The landscape component of the project is largely defined by an open space which exists between the existing building and the river. Once the location of a twin building, the vacant space has been completely paved over and is presently used for parking of cars and large commercial trucks.

Client: MassInnovation LLC
Status: Schematic Design Completed in 2005
Project Size: 449,516 SF 

From the beginning, the owner's vision for the site has been to establish a unique and powerful landscape image for the project, both in terms of providing landscape amenities for the residents who would be moving into the renovated building, as well as for the creation of a landscape which creatively responds to the civic and social aspects of the city and public activity along the water's edge. To that end, this scheme proposes to unearth the former building's foundation and reinvent that foundation as an interactive frame which would then contain the primary landscape program elements. This new, framed surface is defined in large part by a sculpturally undulating grass surface, which conceptually provides a dialogue between the domestic nature of the renovated Wood Mill and the river bank and city beyond, and formally provides a variety of areas for play as well as relaxation for the residents of Wood Mill. In keeping with the stringent ecological agendum of the project, the large lawn area is also designed to accommodate on site storage and filtration of storm water generated by the site. A large party deck has been proposed for the northern edge of the site and creates a social interface and threshold between the large lawn area, the remainder of the project, and the public river walk being proposed by the City of Lawrence. Parking courts have been situated as bookends to the figure of the lawn at the center.