MATTHEW J. LUSK, RA, NCARB​

Situated in the Delaware River adjacent to Philadelphia, this post-industrial parcel thrives with thousands of wildlife species, presenting an enchanting atmosphere that has pulled ashore pioneers and pirates alike. The new 237-acre master plan for Petty Island, juxtaposed against an urban context, is an exciting public retreat that enhances the auditory, visual, and experiential qualities of wind, harvesting it as a renewable energy.

A ‘Split to Preserve’ mentality was employed to create two unique island identities, paying homage to a 19th-century island precedent just downstream, of which there are no remains today. Here, the southern ‘Eagle’ Island reclaims a large shipping port with its expanding wildlife preserve, while the northern oil tank-laden ‘Petty’ Island remains exposed to the elements for wind-centric landscape program. A total of 63 acres of land mass were cut and redistributed on the northern parcel, forming a series of engineered hills, valleys, and wetlands that emphasize and minimize the relationship between topography and wind. Traversing these elevational changes are two main path systems: one capturing the Philadelphia horizon, the other annotating the island’s geology.

A vehicular access path stitches the two islands together, terminating with a renewable-energies research institute, which overlooks the adjacent ‘Eagle Bosque.’ Visitors, who may also arrive via water taxi, will experience high seasonal winds on ‘Kite Hill,’ calm summer breezes on ‘Zephyr Beach,’ and engage auditory installments throughout the ‘Windchime Wetlands.’ Further north, the landscape unfolds to reveal a visitor center and marina, orchestrating access paths to nearby ‘Turbine Forest,’ ‘Oil Tank Amphitheater,’ and watercraft docks parallel to ‘Tailwind Trail.’ Visitors, like their predecessors, have the opportunity to engage with renewable energy production as it powers tomorrow’s Petty Island.