Nestled in-between the cities we live lie American small towns. These places tell stories of forgotten pasts, boom/bust industries, and nostalgic beginnings. They also represent communities in conflict of how best to evolve from their humble roots and maintain relevance in society today.
This thesis investigates the adaptive, responsive ways that architecture can manifest itself in small towns, and how former degenerative industrial sites may become places of regeneration. This project looks at a former industrial site in St. Helens, Oregon, located along the Columbia River. Here exists a place with timber roots and traces of a once thriving sawmill that employed much of the area.
The intervention, a mixed-use vocational trade school, seeks to educate the community and bring industry back into town. Through learning, and unlearning, the community may be ready for the next chapter of their small town.
