2014 - 2015
The Ghost in the Machine
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Corina Angheloiu (2nd Year)
The Shape of Things to Come
“Here the tide is ruled by the wind, the moon and we.”
The thesis presents an essay on our failure to act in regards to climate change. I am speculating how institutional responses can be designed in the context of interconnected phenomena such as extreme weather events, species extinction and rapidly growing urbanisation. The specific site of intervention is the mouth of the Wash estuary and proposes the strategic relocation of UK’s most deprived seaside town, Skegness, alongside a large scale infrastructural development – an 11km storm surge barrier. Here, over 100,000 homes are at risk of severe flooding, together with the breeding ground for 300,000 birds – designated as special protection area (SPA), as well as UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Cambridge.
The interventions increase in scale between the new Skegness on Sea train station to the beginning of the storm surge barrier. From the polder typology offering pastoral views of tranquil landscapes, to the productive landscapes of the mussel farms, merchant warehouses meet the promenade in a linear arrangement of public spaces, wholesale shops and restaurants. The spinal urbanism opens up to perpendicular canals along which paths lead to canalside apartments and detached houses. The managed retreat will see the flood prone land slowly transform into wetlands as well as a network of defensible polders, which provide additional grounds for the wildlife to thrive.
The train line will terminate at Skegness Wetlands where the amusement park is the last remaining artefact of the British seaside town of the 20th century, as well as an observation point of the evershifting landscape. The proposed programmes transform resilience infrastructure into a performative landscape, where the movement of tides, sediments, birds and people is hosted.
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Find out more about Corina’s topic with the research article ->
The thesis presents an essay on our failure to act in regards to climate change. I am speculating how institutional responses can be designed in the context of interconnected phenomena such as extreme weather events, species extinction and rapidly growing urbanisation. The specific site of intervention is the mouth of the Wash estuary and proposes the strategic relocation of UK’s most deprived seaside town, Skegness, alongside a large scale infrastructural development – an 11km storm surge barrier. Here, over 100,000 homes are at risk of severe flooding, together with the breeding ground for 300,000 birds – designated as special protection area (SPA), as well as UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Cambridge.
The interventions increase in scale between the new Skegness on Sea train station to the beginning of the storm surge barrier. From the polder typology offering pastoral views of tranquil landscapes, to the productive landscapes of the mussel farms, merchant warehouses meet the promenade in a linear arrangement of public spaces, wholesale shops and restaurants. The spinal urbanism opens up to perpendicular canals along which paths lead to canalside apartments and detached houses. The managed retreat will see the flood prone land slowly transform into wetlands as well as a network of defensible polders, which provide additional grounds for the wildlife to thrive.
The train line will terminate at Skegness Wetlands where the amusement park is the last remaining artefact of the British seaside town of the 20th century, as well as an observation point of the evershifting landscape. The proposed programmes transform resilience infrastructure into a performative landscape, where the movement of tides, sediments, birds and people is hosted.
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Find out more about Corina’s topic with the research article ->
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