When
Where
Open to the Public. Displayed in a gallery format, the work invites guests to engage with student work individually and as part of a larger interdisciplinary exploration.
The former Roger Road Wastewater Reclamation Facility is a 47-acre county owned brownfield site located at 2600 West Sweetwater Drive in Tucson, Arizona. Pima County operated the site as a wastewater treatment plant and water reclamation facility (WRF) from the 1970s through 2014. The facility previously treated over 40 million gallons of wastewater a day. When the facility was decommissioned, all wastewater was redirected to the new Agua Nueva WRF to the north of the site.
While the site and plant ceased operations in 2014, the facility currently includes numerous buildings, structures, electrical equipment, switchgear, conduit, motors, pumps, boilers, and specific wastewater treatment equipment that remain on site. Small portions of the site are still in active use, primarily for community use, parking, and storage. The southwest corner of the site has been repurposed as a future park along the Santa Cruz River and “the Loop”, a multi-purpose recreational trail system. Two buildings on the site are used for storage by the Red Cross and the County Animal Control.
The main parking lot is used for county vehicles and authorized users.
Source: “Reuse Assessment for Roger Road Wastewater Reclamation Facility – Final Report, March 2024”
The former Roger Road Wastewater Reclamation Facility presents a unique opportunity for urban wildlife habitat through adaptive reuse of existing structures and postindustrial infrastructure. With its proximity to the Santa Cruz River, this large site is well-positioned to support habitat restoration and biodiversity within an urban setting.
LAR 511/202 WILD CITY DESIGN STUDIO
MACKENZIE WALLER: wallerm@arizona.edu
LAR 202 DESIGN STUDIO
ERIK SCHMAHL: erikschmahl@arizona.edu
ARC 410F ABIOTIC ARCHITECTURE
CHRISTOPHER TUCKER: christucker@arizona.edu