HISTORY OF PRODUCTIVITY: Elevator Building ‘A’ was at the heart of the brewery, lifting and pumping liquids throughout the complex. This structure was demolished decades ago, leaving an urban void in the center of the Historic Pabst Brewery.
early design studies
early design studies
early design studies
detailed design studies
detailed design studies
AN URBAN PARK: The pocket park provides a generous central turf panel for public gathering and play. This space is flanked on the north by the historic timeline amongst a shady grove of trees.
LIQUID RESOURCES: Along the southern edge of the park, a sunken garden populated with a mosaic of wispy grasses and perennials collect and filter the surrounding rainwater, while just below the lawn is an industrial-scale stormwater storage basin
RICH HISTORIES RETOLD: Beginning in 1848 with the establishment of the brewery, the timeline has been inscribed in the ground, telling the life-story of the workers and brewery.
Artifacts from decades of industrial production and generations of Milwaukee workers are included in glowing glass vignettes.
Historic Pabst Brewery Milwaukee, Wisconsin Site Design 2015 - 2017
preservation park
2018 Award of Merit ASLA Wisconsin Chapter 2018 Mayor’s Design Award
Since 1844, the landscape of the Pabst Brewery bubbled with activity as a tireless workforce concocted gallons upon gallons of the world famous Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. Elevator Building ‘A’ was at the heart of the brewery, lifting and pumping liquids throughout the complex. This structure was demolished decades ago, leaving an urban void in the center of the Historic Pabst Brewery. Rather than filling this particular void with a structure, the development and design team proposed that this sacred space become a public park.
The pocket park functions as both shady open space and celebration of the rich history of Pabst and the incredible Milwaukee workforce. A timeline is inscribed in steel panels along the most public edge of the park, featuring glowing glass vignettes revealing sunken artifacts directly from the active days of the Pabst Brewery. The clean turf panel is a public space for gathering and playing, while also housing an industrial-sized stormwater collection basin, collecting from neighboring rooftops to reduce peak flow within the city. At the southern edge, a rectangular sunken garden populated with a mosaic of wispy grasses and perennials also collects rainwater and provides a stark, year-round contrast to the industrial-scaled structures.
