The Wissahickon Valley in Philadelphia, PA, is a relatively narrow, steep-sided valley created by the Wissahickon Creek and its tributaries cutting through the hard geology of schist and gneiss. Today, a mature cover of mixed-deciduous and evergreen forest characterizes the larger U.S. eastern forest type, grows extensively amidst rock croppings and steep slopes. The many rock faces exposed by processes of weathering, quarrying, and infrastructural works reveal an extensive and varied history of tectonic movements—folding, clearing, and infrastructural eroding the landscape while facilitating recreation today. The many pathways, trails, and waterways that traverse the landscape while facilitating recreation today also trace layers of human occupation, industry, and movement. The many rock faces exposed by processes of weathering, quarrying, and infrastructural works reveal an extensive and varied history of tectonic movements—weathering, quarrying, and infrastructural eroding the landscape while facilitating recreation today. The ambiguity and dynamism of the topography invites the study of the material, space, and ecology and phenomena of the Valley. As pioneers in the discovery of new terrain, site-based design studies were the basis upon which new ways of seeing, experiencing and being in landscape were envisioned.