Seeking Refuge: A Place of Recovery in the Cascade Mountains

Abstract

Characterized by both violence and serenity, the former town site of Wellington was a place of struggle between industrial expansion and the pristine yet destructive nature of the mountain wilderness. Set low on a steep slope, the town formed around a railroad grade that cut through the landscape and destabilized the natural condition by running in opposition its established patterns. The inevitable result of this conflict was disaster, tragedy, and abandonment, leaving a scarred landscape that now lays in isolation for most of the year. This thesis proposes a recovery center as a new layer in its history of struggle. It attempts to compliment character by providing refuge to support the process of recovery for the people who come. The project examines the patterns past occupation, provides for the current needs of those who come here, and hopes to set in motion the future recovery of the landscape