ARCHITECTURAL INTERVENTIONS FOR POST INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE RESTORATION AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

Abstract

This thesis investigates how architecture can operate within contaminated landscapes by reframing soil as an active medium of ecological, cultural, and spatial transformation. Focusing on the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Oklahoma, the project addresses the long term environmental and social impacts of lead and zinc mining on Quapaw tribal lands, where contamination, displacement, and ecological collapse remain ongoing. Drawing on regenerative design, Indigenous ecological knowledge, and the ecology of knowledges, the research proposes “earth architecture” as a framework for post-industrial environmental justice. Within this framework, architecture operates as a form of geological prosthetic supporting damaged ground systems rather than imposing upon them. The project develops a phased, process-driven approach that integrates underground stabilization of mining voids, phytoremediation through native plant systems, and ecological zoning across wetlands, prairies, and productive landscapes. Repository landforms act as both containment infrastructure and cultural markers, referencing Indigenous mound-building traditions while safely storing contaminated material. Through qualitative methods, including case study analysis and site-based research, the thesis identifies strategies for aligning remediation with community resilience. Ultimately, it argues that healing land is inseparable from restoring cultural relationships, positioning architecture as a long-term participant in ecological recovery and collective healing rather than a static object of design.