Reinterpreting the Edge

New Orleans Asta Fivgas | Jung Im | Paul Stein 2007-2008

Reinterpreting the Edge: A Response to Coastal Flood and Erosion

Coastal flooding and erosion is only one factor that plays into the larger picture of “global warming”. Our group became increasingly interested in it’s effect on what we consider the “edge”. Edge can refer to sea vs. land as well as urban vs. natural.

Our system deploys itself along the edge as a mediator (both between the city and the surrounding wetlands as well as the marshland and the sea) that capitalizes on natural sediment flow by capturing and redistributing the sediment to strengthen specific areas of the coastline as well as diverting and slowing wave currents. As the sediment is secured new “land” is created and a second phase of the system is deployed. Each phase builds upon the previous creating layers of build-up both natural (silt/sediment) and architectural (nested geometry). The growth pattern is dependent on scripted algorithms that orient the aperture of the cells toward desirable conditions as well as manipulate the cell based on inputs such as topographical depth and environmental context/needs.