Press Release
Back to the future: Mithun renews Olmsted Brothers landscape plan for Washington State's historic West Capitol Campus
SEATTLE — 10.28.2009 — Preserving history and a venerable legacy, Mithun’s historic landscape preservation master plan for the West Campus of Washington State’s Capitol also takes a leap forward to promote sustainability in an increasingly urban future. The new plan represents an extraordinary opportunity to activate the Olmsted Brothers’ original plan in ways that highlight the value of cultural landscapes and their ability to perform ecologically as a living example of the state’s environmental goals.
A host of historic documentation recently retrieved from the Library of Congress and the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site provided the foundation for planning and design. "Sharing an understanding of Olmsted principles is urgent in the 21st century," says Debra Guenther ASLA, Mithun landscape architecture principal. "They are prescient in their timeless understanding of integrating infrastructure, place and people."
Mithun’s landscape plan respects the design principles of the original Olmsted plan, honors characteristic features and concepts of the historic design, and acknowledges the dynamic context of the historic capitol grounds. "We are providing a sustainable link between the past and future," says Guenther.
Washington State’s Capitol is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Instead of a single building, as in most states, it consists of a campus with several buildings. The Washington State Legislature, Washington Supreme Court and Washington Governor’s Mansion are all located on the Capitol Campus.
The Olmsted Brothers created the original 54-acre site plan in 1928, with planting beginning in 1931 and continuing to this day as buildings are added and site needs change. As with all of the Olmsteds’ work, the Campus features sweeping vistas along with open, expansive lawns. However, much of their design intent was lost due to attrition, development or deferred preventive care. Mithun’s plan will replenish aging trees, establish new trees and replace portions of energy-intensive lawn with layers of vegetation, as originally intended. The plan also recommends the removal of some parking in order to help return the most civic aspect of the state to a place for people rather than cars.
"The improvements will enhance the sense of arrival in approaching the Capitol and elevate the sequence of progression in moving throughout the Campus." says Susan Olmsted ASLA, Mithun project designer. “It’s already rich architecturally. Now the landscape will complete that experience." Ms. Olmsted is actually related to the famed landscape architects, although a few generations removed.
Preservation of cultural landscapes has not been as common as preservation of cultural resources, such as buildings, but there is a growing consensus that it’s equally important to protect historic structures and the settings in which they reside. The difficulty is that the dynamic character of landscapes, growing and changing over time, complicates efforts – hence the significance of having a plan to follow.
Mithun not only conducted research to gather information about the Olmsteds’ vision for the Campus, but also analyzed the health of existing natural resources. It became clear that the critical structural elements were in place, but in particular they lacked the ongoing replenishment and maintenance of trees. In response, Mithun has created a landscape master plan to inform future planning efforts, a large tree layer plan to address initial vegetation rejuvenation and a vegetation management plan to guide ongoing landscape management.
Work on the Campus began over the summer and is slated to continue incrementally over the course of the next 50 years. On a final historical note, Washingtonians might be interested to know that the Olmsteds also designed the grounds of our nation’s capitol, the other Washington – Washington, D.C. (1874-1885).
About Mithun
Mithun is a leading sustainable design practice that creates lasting places for people. The firm’s innovative and collaborative spirit encompasses architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, urban planning, and ecology — a multidisciplinary approach that integrates nature, technology and design. Mithun’s commitment to sustainability extends to mixed-use, corporate, commercial, residential, civic, science and technology, higher education, retail, senior living, and environmental learning. mithun.com
Attachments
- West Capitol Campus (4.7MB jpg) Credit: © Mithun, photograph by Juan Hernandez.
