Schmitz Park Creek Restore

Schmitz Park - The Playfield and ALKI Beach TRANSFORMED

Community Landscape Design

The University of Washington's Master of Landscape Architecture advanced studio has partnered with Schmitz Park Creek Restore, a community initiative, to reconnect the ancient forest of Schmitz Park with Puget Sound. This studio challenges students to explore the identity and narrative of landscapes, fostering designs that reveal and revive the spirit of the wild within urban settings. As modern landscapes grow more fragmented, this project seeks to weave them back together, creating vibrant ecological and cultural mosaics. Photography by: Brian Barilleaux

Restore the creek's Natural Flow

The primary focus of the project is to reestablish the historic connection between Schmitz Park’s 53-acre old-growth forest and Alki Beach in West Seattle. A site of great historical significance, Schmitz Park was once Duwamish land and has been a public park since 1908, following a donation from the Schmitz family. Today, the park’s creek disappears underground before reaching Elliott Bay. Through this studio, students envision restoring the creek's natural flow along its original route, creating a continuous wild corridor that includes a new 5-acre park.

Transforming Fragmented Spaces

In collaboration with the Schmitz Creek Park Restore initiative, students will integrate the forest and creek into the urban fabric of Seattle, developing designs deeply rooted in the site’s history, ecology, and cultural narratives. Working in teams, students will craft designs that celebrate and tell the story of this landscape, transforming fragmented spaces into cohesive, wild landscapes that echo the enduring spirit of place.

Restore Schmitz Preserve Fish | Forest | Creek | Cove | Community