FLUID ECONOMY

Pawtucket Falls has always been a node for human use and recreation. In pre-Colonial times the falls served as a key fishing location for anadromous fish populations seeking passage up the Blackstone River.  Later, Pawtucket's Falls became the source of mechanical power which created a movement worldwide: The Industrial Revolution. During this time a trench was created that powered many mills: Sargent's Trench. It begins at Slater Mill and continues south to the Bridge Mill Plant where it exited into the tidal zone. With the invention of hydro-electric generation, a new age was spawned. In the electrical age, power could be shared beyond the physical confines of the mill state. It is a living museum of a pivotal moments in our history as a nation, and Rhode Islands hey day. This is a proposal to open this historic site up to the public as a utility park.  Today, the water of the Blackstone River is valued for it's ecological services. It is in this new purpose which this design has re-centered itself on - the need to cool the water coming out of the plant down to acceptable temperatures before entering the Blackstone River. This new terminus is a living machine, which cleans the water, and outputs it into an external wetland.