The Providence Steelyard

04 May 2011, Posted by Samantha in do not use this category,lifestyle, 0 Comments

Landscapers and architects combined forces to tackle the challenge of an industrial and rotting wasteland, and turned it into something urban and wild.

 

The Providence Steelyard is in the Industrial Valley, at the convergence of five different neighborhoods, where failed industry has long been the trend. Yet today, it has been turned into a much-loved icon of the Providence community.  From the get-go, the investors never wanted it to become a beautified park of green grass and daffodils. Instead, they wanted an ecologically sound site of urban “grittiness” that would become several communities’ cultural meeting point. Not only is the steelyard an aesthetically urban gem, but its site and services also promote the foundations of the rising urban culture. Volunteers, who perform tasks such as planting trees and cleaning up the grounds, often inscribe their own mementos on windows and walls, they themselves becoming a part of the building’s history. Artists can rent rooms in the Steelyard to teach their trade or passion to children and adults who sign up for a variety of courses, ranging from bicycle repair classes to instruction on creating wearable art. The Steelyard also houses a summer camp called “Camp Metalhead,” that teaches children the art of welding. There have been writing conferences, techno music fests, and Cruise nights, where visitors bring their contemporary and classic vehicles for a vast automobile show-and-tell. There’s even been a wedding on the premises. In a nutshell, this place sounds awesome.

In a time where sustainability and city culture are trends spanning across the globe, the developers of the Steelyard have found a way to turn its once decaying predecessor into an ecologically friendly urban center for modern times.

 

 

 

 

Images via thesteelyard.org