kinetic environments + public realm of urban infrastructure + sustainable environmental ethic + improve ecological resilience + strengthen social connectivity

It is critical that the design of urban environments helps to reveal the importance of ecological services by amplifying their value in sustaining life and hopefully translate the experiences into the development of an environmental ethic. This thesis will use two primary ethical parameters to link the relationship between the environments and human survival: (1) the design will be grounded in a resilient ecological foundation; and (2) it will create opportunities to develop understanding through a meaningful aesthetic. The ecologically resilient framework will be grounded in adaptive strategies, promote functional trait diversity and incorporate in situ scientific experimentation.  Creating a meaningful aesthetic will promote social equity, respond to the local context, incorporate cultural pluralism and create transitive experiences.

Utilizing the ecological and aesthetic parameters, the thesis will explore sustainable design strategies that integrate dynamic water flows into the built environment of the community of St. Roch in the city of New Orleans.   The thesis will assess the potential of integrating a multifunctional framework that engages existing infrastructural systems and social networks. It will focus on amplifying components, such as water systems and accessibility, which are currently undeveloped in the community.  The physical armature of the design will be rooted in the dynamic hydrological flows, including naturally occurring and human constructed systems.  The design will be structured by a network of points, lines and a plane that expand the public realm.