Confluences: Flows of the Schuylkill

Schuylkill River Park, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA. In Collaboration with Winifred Lutz. Expected completion date Spring, 2002. Native stone, asphalt, concrete.

Confluences allows the river’s tide to flow into the terraced basin, showing an often forgotten phenomena of a 6-foot tide two times a day. The river water slowly fills up the stone terraces and then recedes as the tide lowers. Stormwater drainage from the city is contained in a large sunken copse with a spiral wall to walk on. Patterns of the turbulent hydrology of the river is inscribed into the paving around the bridge piers and through out the site. The site creates a place for gathering and contemplation, and shows the park users the nature of the river’s flows.