Architecture Thesis: Protective Coastal Infrastructure

Colleen Loughlin | Prof. Roser-Gray | 11.25.14 Resisting the Waves

Resisting the Waves: A Case Study for Interactive, Protective Coastal Infrastructure in Massachusetts

2

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS Thesis Statement and Abstract

5 Thesis Essay 6 Annotated Bibliography 28 Bibliography 32 Case Studies

38

Kent Pier Marina 40

St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouse 41 Millenium Bridge 42 Mediatheque 43 The Lens 44 Lady Landfill Skyscraper 46 The BIG U 48 Living Breakwaters 50 Program 52

Maritime Youth House 54 Fruit Salad 55 Fish Market 56 Kastrup Sea Bath 57 Program Analysis 58 Interviews 64

Reflection 69 Site Analysis 70 Design 88

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Thesis Statement + Abstract 4

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Thesis Statement + Abstract

5

Statement Coastal erosion, rising sea-levels and man-made development on barrier islands pose high levels of risk to coastal communities, environments and ecosystems. Taking advantage of existing coastal protective breakwater systems, a newly adapted architectural breakwater typology will benefit local marine industries and protect the coastline while catalyzing awareness of the coastal situation through its design.

Abstract Climate change and rising sea levels render coastal living less viable.

Extreme winter nor’easters, global rising sea levels, and over development are drastically changing the landscape of barrier islands defending the Atlantic Coast. Natural erosion is exacerbated by man-made interventions such as jetties, seawalls, sand dredging, and groin fields meant to keep flooding and erosion at bay. The beaches along the Atlantic are receding at a rate of two to three feet per year2. As a result of the diminishing natural defense, homeowners, business owners, and fishermen face irreparable losses. It is necessary to address the risks to the population and detrimental effects to ecosystems and the economy as retreating from the consequences of nature is not a feasible option due to its tremendous economic, social, and cultural repercussions. The maritime businesses account for approximately 82,000 jobs vital to the state’s revenue and economy. Despite the coastline of Massachusetts being small relative to its overall size, one-third of the state’s population resides in coastal communities. With development and population growth along the coast predicted to continue, proposing to relocate thousands of residents inland is not practical.

An architectural infrastructure that defends the developed coast while simultaneously restoring the natural ecosystem and furthering the marine economy is essential in the wake of recent storms on Massachusetts’ North Shore. This thesis aims to approach the concern of coastal development by introducing a catalyst to the local marine-based cultures, educating the public about their local environment, and regenerating the ecosystem affected by development and storm impact. Using Plum Island as a case study for defensive coastal design, an architectural intervention coupled with breakwaters and environmentally responsible, economically profitable commercial programming will be the new typology reestablishing a sustainable relationship between land and water.

6

7

ESSAY

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay 8

Introduction

photograph by Cheryl Loughlin of Plum Island Beach, MA

33.3% MA Population Living on the Coast diagram by author

62.5%

New England’s coast attracts beachgoers, tourists, fishermen and water enthusiasts throughout the year. Over the years, America’s infatuation with the seashore has led to increased development along the coast and on barrier islands. These islands no longer effectively serve as barriers between mainland and the sea because they have been heavily developed and landscaped. The property values of waterfront lots entice continued development of residential and commercial structures. Vicinity to the ocean is at a premium; the state’s beaches amass thousands of visitors each year and one-third of Massachusetts residents are on the coast.

The landforms of barrier islands and beaches are not static or permanent and their landscapes are always changing. As part of a natural cycle, tidal flow and wind reshape and move beaches. Unfortunately, recent super storms on New England’s coast have revealed a plethora of negative repercussions from built interventions. Architectural approaches to coastal protection and coastal development must mediate the needs of many stakeholders while acknowledging the natural ecological cycles.

Coastal Erosion and Barrier Islands

Southern End of Plum Island, MA Harlow, Michaela M. Digital image. The Gardener’s Eden. September 22, 2014.

Accessed October 12, 2014. http://www.thegardenersedencom/?p=31681.

Mean global sea levels are increasing and compromising coastal inhabitation. For centuries, people have lived along the coasts, steadily building on and developing the buffer defending the mainland from storms and wave action. Global warming is also taking effect; the seasons are changing and under the high emissions scenarios there are projections of 10-24 inch sea level increases by 2100. In the case of Massachusetts, the average temperature has increased since 1970 by more than 1.5 F˚. Atlantic beaches are receding at rates of two to three feet per year1.

Located along much of these coasts are barrier islands; crucial to the survival of salt marshes, estuaries, and island species. Barrier island footprints are shrinking at remarkable rates as a result of natural and artificial causes. The estuaries and salt marshes are especially vulnerable to rising sea levels. Recognized as “nurseries of the sea”, their place in the marine food chain is intrinsic to fish, other creatures and migratory birds in search of feeding grounds.

Barrier Island Attributes Narrow strips of land extending roughly parallel to the coast, barrier islands consist mostly of dune systems and coastal beaches separating the 1. Healey, Jane A. Regulating Residential Development on Massachusetts Barrier Islands:

Inadequacies, Opportunities, and the Case of Plum Island. Master’s thesis,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003. Cambridge: Department of Urban

Studies + Planning, 2003.

photograph by Cheryl Loughlin of Plum Island Salt Marsh

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay

9 the mainland by brackish water (salt and fresh water) and marshes. These islands are the first line of defense for an array of plants, animals, and developed communities from high winds and seas. The formation of these narrow barrier islands occurred thousands of years ago as large ice sheets melted and retreated; depressing the earth’s crust2. Once equilibrium between the rising crust and sea levels was reached, the present-day coast took shape, leaving 120 miles of Massachusetts’ 192 mile coastline as barrier islands1.

Salt Marshes

Drumlin: defined as dome-shaped hills caused by large amounts of debris rolled under passing glaciers. Three drumlins are located on the barrier island of Plum Island3 and barrier beaches along Massachusetts’ coastline are formed from drumlins

33.3%

62.5% Percentage of Barrier Islands On MA Coastline

diagram by author

While erosion and rising sea levels are affecting barrier islands, the salt marsh’s composition offsets flooding caused by tidal and wave energy.

The accretion of tidally-borne sediment and its natural defenses can keep pace with sea level rise3. “A nutrient pumping station”2, the salt marsh filters minerals and salts on incoming tides and releases organic material into the estuarine system on outgoing tides, which provide breeding and developing habitats for fish species intrinsic to the regional economy.

However, this efficient system is heavily dependent on particular plants found only in these conditions. Salt marsh grasses are critical to the continuation of the ecosystem’s cycle, yet are being compromised by human foot traffic, development, and erosion exacerbated by artificial protective measures. Studies have proven that all levels of human traffic are detrimental to the vegetation species in the dune systems on barrier islands. The fore dune and inter dune are the most affected by this trend and have resulted in the horizontal shift of the vegetation pattern4.

Marine Ecology and Global Warming’s Impact As previously mentioned, the plants of the barrier islands and salt marshes are exceptional in their ability to adapt to a range of harsh conditions. In the dunes, particularly, plants have developed intricate root systems in order to capture as much rainwater as possible before it moves through the sand. Additionally, as strong winds push sand further inland on the island, vegetation traps sand particles which then start the process of dune formation. Once beach grass or poison ivy has established itself, dunes stabilize. Despite the hot temperatures on the surface of the sand, beach grass and other vegetation create cooler micro-climates which facilitate the growth of other life forms.

Dealing with salt water inundation poses another problem for the sustainability of these plants. New England’s coast receives an average 1. Healey, Jane A. 2. Hoel, Michael L. Land’s Edge: A Natural History and Field Guide to Barrier Beaches from Maine

to North Carolina. Newbury, MA: Little Book Pub., 1986.

3. Institution of Civil Engineers. “Facing Up to Rising Sea Levels.” Building Futures. Accessed

August 28, 2014. http://www.buildingfutures.org.uk/projects/building-futures/facing-up.

4. McDonnell, M. J. “Trampling Effects on Coastal Dune Vegetation in the Parker River National

Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts, USA.” Biological Conservation 21 (1989): 289+.

1844-1897

1909-1938

1994

2000

1943-1969

1970-1982

2001

2007-2009

Shoreline Changes from 1844 through 2009 diagram by author

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay 10 annual rainfall of 39 inches . Not at a shortage of either fresh or salt water, dune ecology has similar attributes to desert environments. A two root system enables dune grass to root itself firmly into the sand via the taproots which can be as long as 40 feet, and water is absorbed through their rhizomes spread close to the surface of the sand. Setting the framework for various life forms on the island, in the salt marshes, and the ocean barrier island ecologies are distinctive in their construction.

2

sound

salt marsh

inter dune

fore dune

beach surf

Barrier Island zone composition and organization Hoel, Michael L. “Barrier Beach Migration.” In Land’s Edge: A Natural History and Field Guide to Barrier Beaches from Maine to North Carolina, 44-45. Newbury, MA: Little Book Pub., 1986. with overlay diagram by author

Accompanying sea level rise is the increase in water temperatures.

Rising water temperatures affect where sea creatures live, and as a result change the way that marine economies function in addition to the natural processes of the ocean. Lobsters, scallops, and cod are all vital resources to the Massachusetts marine economy and are susceptible to changes in water temperature5. Not only will these fish be eliminated as viable industries, but they will catalyze a disruption in the food chain.

Climate change is unavoidable and must be addressed as its effects are exacerbated by human impact.

Plum Island’s First Settlers

Captains, Clams, and Cobblestones, Historical Society of Old Newbury, Newbury. Plum. Second ed. Newbury, MA: Newburyport Press, 1996.

Early settlers harvested salt marsh hay for bedding, foundation insulation, and mulching. Skill was required to successfully farm the hay and the techniques were passed down through families.

Captains, Clams, and Cobblestones, Historical Society of Old Newbury, Newbury. Plum. Second ed. Newbury, MA: Newburyport Press, 1996.

Beachgoers in Plum Island’s Basin circa 1920

First recorded in the early 17th century on European charts, Plum Island, MA has consistently been inhabited for the past four centuries and patterns of inhabitation have changed as the nation industrialized increasing accessibility to isolated islands. For the first hundred and fifty years, the towns of Newbury, Rowley, and Ipswich utilized Plum Island purely as a resource for livestock and farming. Its copious open land suited farmer’s needs to graze horses and cattle; the salt marsh hay was farmed and harvested for use as mulch, bedding, and insulation in the foundation of homes.

Erosion has been of concern to coastal communities since colonial times.

Settlement was initially made only on the southern end of the island because of its rich topsoil and higher elevation on the drumlins. Ipswich residents complained that horses from Newbury residents foraging during the winter were destroying the vegetation and “…would be the ruin and utter destruction of the whole island…”6. There was an attempt to mediate the noticeable change in the island’s character through regulations aiming to protect the dunes and salt marsh system. The isolation of the island kept large numbers of visitors and settlers at bay through the 18th century, but lighthouses and keeper’s quarters were erected on the northern end of the island in response to increasing amounts of shipwrecks occurring in the mouth of the river. Upon the erection of a bridge connecting to the 2.Hoel, Michael L. 5.American Security Project. “Pay Now, Pay Later: Massachsuetts.” FACTS Massachusetts: 1-5. Accessed

September 08, 2014. http://americansecurityproject.org/resources/pnpl/Massachusetts%20FINAL.pdf.

6. Weare, Nancy V. Plum Island: The Way It Was. Second ed. Newbury, MA:

Newburyport Press, 1993.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay

11 the mainland and a toll road from the island’s center, visitation grew. Not long after this construction project, a hotel was built in 1806 to attract summer visitors to the island.

Industrialization: New Access to Barrier Islands A major turning point in the development and inhabitation of Plum Island coincided with the creation of the steam boat. Prior, the only way to reach the island was by private boat or canoe. As the majority of people were not boat-owners, this limited the number of visitors to fishermen and those with means of access. By 1876 as many as 10 steamers were on the Merrimack River and hordes of visitors accessed the island at the northern end6. Subsequent development of private residences on the island ensued as transportation to and from the island became readily available. By the 1880s road traffic on the toll road had increased significantly and the horse car railway line of 1887 made the island accessible to everyone6.

Transportation industrialization catalyzed the growth of the island amid a flurry of housing development. At this time, 1920, three hundred fifteen homes were on the island. These residents did not all take kindly to the introduction of neighbors; eliminating their swaths of land and beachfront property. Unable to hinder continued residential construction, these early residents became part of the tightly-knit community created on the northern end of the island. Overtime, the lure of the waterfront and accessibility to fishing culture superseded the desire for the privacy of large plots.

Ironically, the southern end of the island saw slower development than the northern end despite its advantageous location on the island. Its proximity to the mouth of the Parker River prompted farmers and sportsmen to take advantage of its farmable land, abundant wildlife and waterfowl. Modest hunting camps and shelters were constructed for farmers harvesting salt hay and their cattle. Just as the steam boat introduced visitors to north end, the southern end attracted sportsmen and vacationers due to new accessibility. Hotels were constructed for both the Ipswich Bluffs and Grape Island, but were removed when the Audubon Society and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the land as part of the national refuge6.

Currently, Plum Island is heavily developed on its northern end, and the southern two thirds are converting back to their initial natural state as the Annie H. Brown Wildlife Sanctuary seeks to maintain it as a wildlife preserve for migratory birds, waterfowl, and the salt marsh.

developed

refuge

wetlands Developed | Conservation Area | Wetlands diagram by author

jetty

groin

sea wall

sand bags 6. Weare, Nancy V.

dredging Current Coastal Protection Systems

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay 12

groin: in coastal engineering, a long, narrow structure built out into the water from a beach in order to prevent beach erosion or to trap and accumulate sand that would otherwise drift along the beach face and nearshore zone under the influence of waves approaching the beach at an angle. A groin can be successful in stabilizing a beach on the updrift side, but erosion tends to be aggravated on the downdrift side, which is deprived by the groin structure of replenishment by drifting sand.

Partly to counteract this tendency, often multiple groins are built in so-called groin fields, which can stabilize a larger beach area.

typical residential construction

oil rig

elevate

lighthouse

Early Coastal Protection Measures Attempts to prevent beach erosion on Plum Island date back to the first settlers. Regulations meant to deter farmers from having their cattle overgraze the dunes were non-infrastructural methods of beach protection.

Unfortunately, the continued influx of development and inhabitants negated the positive effects these measures would have had. Physical measures replaced early non-invasive attempts to relocate homes away from the dunes because the persistent growth rendered more substantial interventions viable. In 1952 funds were appropriated to pump sand located in the Basin onto the ocean-front beach. Providing temporary relief, this project was supplemented by a series of groins perpendicular to the oceanfront after another onslaught of destructive storms. These existing protective measures proved impermanent solutions and led to yet further attempts to strengthen the engineered jetties. While raising the southern jetty provided additional fishing platforms, its smooth top no longer broke the waves and allowed water to pass unimpeded over its surface6.

sea wall

marina

Onshore vs. Offshore Structural Typologies diagram by author

Over the years these hard-constructed infrastructural attempts to control tidal action and storms have significantly exacerbated coastal erosion.

Aggressive seawalls cause more disruption to the sand than typical erosion, and sand dredging and replenishment have the potential to encourage more development along endangered shorelines with the allusion of protection7. Incredible effort and economic funds are required to undergo engineering projects such as seawalls, revetments, jetties and dams. For years these hard structures, often referred to as ‘shoreline armor’, were envisioned as permanent resolutions. Nevertheless, this assumption is fundamentally flawed because barrier islands themselves are constantly changing form. Even though stone-engineered rock walls, jetties and dams provide immediate relief from the tidal energy, wave energy undermines the structure and leads to collapse. New Orleans’ flood walls are prime examples of how engineered systems can fail when natural forces overpower structure. The inevitable forces of the rising sea levels paired with storms trump man’s attempted interventions.

Seawalls create false senses of security because while they provide protection from the brunt of wave action, the homes are mere feet from the edge of the sea and the wall’s imminent failure7. Federal and state funds are necessary to implement these infrastructural protective systems, but the appropriation of money must go towards the right kind of structure.

6. Weare, Nancy V. 7. Carini, Frank. “Erosion Happens: Can We Deal With It? - Climate Change -.”

Erosion Happens: Can We Deal With It? - Climate Change -. January 14, 2014. Accessed August 31,

2014. http://www.ecori.org/climate-change/2014/1/14/erosion-happens-can-we-deal-with-it.html.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay

13

Offshore Structure Typologies Lighthouses Offshore structures have served in different capacities ever since travel and trade over water has existed. A set of marine architectural typologies has resulted from the need to provide protection to ships from wrecking along coasts, containment for boats, and assistance in the dredging of oil.

Among the first of these recognizable structures were lighthouses. Their invention sought to provide ships with safe navigation markers in response to local concerns of dangerous navigation in harbors and waterways.

In 1716 the first lighthouse in the United States was built in the Boston Harbor8. Blanketed by some of the most scenic backdrops in the country, lighthouses are attractions that are intensifying over time. Presently, their primary functions no longer serve the maritime community because of advancements in boating and navigational technology, but lighthouses are prominent and sought after landmarks.

Gill, Tom. Frigid Waters. September 11, 2013.

Frozen World, Flickr. Accessed September 20, 2014. http://twistedsifter.com/2013/09/lakemichigan-frozen-pier-and-lighthouse/.

St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouse

Oil Rigs On the other end of marine architecture are oil rigs; widely contested by the public for being eyesores and detrimental to the ecosystems and habitats they are imposed upon. While the function of these oil rigs is controversial and the abandonment of the mega-structures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Celebes Sea validates concern over their environmental impact, it is critical to evaluate the efficient compartmental construction for its potential benefits to future structures.

The essence of the public’s feelings towards rigs is captured in describing “the myth of offshore exploration generally casts the rig as the embodiment of corporate greed and environmental irresponsibility”9. The negative connotations of the oil rigs overshadow their enormous potential for autonomous use and functionality. Architectural typologies have changed over the years, and what is commonly appreciated by the public does not always align with what is most appropriate for a site’s location and function. Removed from its environmental and economic role, oil rigs may instead be regarded as the realization of some of the most revolutionary and visionary architectural ideas of the past sixty years9. Its structure bears close relationship to the drawings and visions of architects from the Metabolist movement and Italian Futurists. Approached from a utopian view, Ralph Wilcoxon described the oil rig beautifully as:

North Cormorant Platform. 2012. Edited by Oil Job Review. Accessed October 14, 2014. http:// oiljobreview.com/popular/offshore_platform.html.

North Cormorant platform, located in the UK sector of the North Sea

Not only a structure of great size, but… also a structure 8. Holland, F. Ross. “Lighting America’s Shores.” In Great American

Lighthouses, 9-27. Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press, 1989.

9.Kronenburg, Robert, Joseph Lim, and Wong Yunn. Chii. “Oil and Water:

Offshore Architecture.” In Transportable Environments 3:, 30-38. London: Taylor &

Francis, 2006.

Seaventures Dive Resort. August 30, 2013. The Luxurious Afterlives of Abandoned Sea Forts and Rigs. Accessed October 8, 2014. http://io9.com/ the-luxurious-afterlives-of-abandoned-sea-fortsand-oil-1227566417.

Seaventures Dive Resort

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay 14 which is frequently: 1 constructed of modular units; 2 capable of great or even ‘unlimited’ extension; 3 a structural framework into which smaller structural units (for example, rooms, houses, or small buildings of other sorts) can be built – or even ‘plugged-in’ or ‘clipped-on’ after having been prefabricated elsewhere; 4 a structural framework expected to have a useful life much longer than that of the smaller units which it might support.

(Wilcoxon, 1968,p.2)9

www.ucsusa.org/encroachingtides Total Number of Flooding Events Experienced in Boston by decade over the past 40 years.

Most recently there has been a spike in flooding events compared to the historical trend.

Capable of withstanding 80 foot waves and icebergs twice its size, rigs are tremendously equipped to survive in the ocean. An interesting architectural inversion, however, is its siting. Typically an architectural notion of site dictates static location housing dynamic function. This interplay is reversed when considering oil rigs because of its static figure interacting with a highly dynamic ground or sea plane. At the same time that the structure itself is static once placed in the site, it is mobile in that additional components can easily be added onto the structure, changing the overall function and interaction on the rig. The oil rig has the potential as an architectural typology to influence the way that future offshore design develops.

Oil Rigs Repurposed

www.ucsusa.org/encroachingtides Total Number of Flooding Events Per Year by City with Projected Increases. Coastal cities along the Atlantic seaboard are projected to experience a large increase in the number of flooding events per year in the near future; prompting many state agencies to call for immediate changes regarding coastal protection and living situations.

Abandoned oil rigs have been rehabilitated for use as dive resorts, living hubs, and luxury resorts. As the world is looking to claim responsibility for these large abandoned structures, competitions have emerged challenging architects and designers to repurpose these rigs to suit contemporary culture and society. An entry into the 2011 eVolo Skyscraper competition, Ku Yee Kee and Hor Sue-Wern proposed rehabilitating oil rigs off of Malaysia into housing structures with underwater research labs10. The expense of taking these structures down can be avoided by incorporating new uses into the already existing built forms. Similarly in the Gulf of Mexico, Texas-based architectural firm Morris Architects designed a luxury resort out of one of the 4,000 decommissioned oil rigs. Taking top honors in the Radical Innovation in Hospitality competition, this resort and spa project takes advantage of the rig structure to create an entirely selfsufficient energy generator11. Morris Architects utilizes the compartmental capabilities of the oil rig structure and proposes a design that makes its reuse commercially viable. An existing example of how oil rigs have been reused after their abandonment is seen in the Seaventures Dive Resort 9. Kronenburg, Robert, et. al.

10. “Abandoned Oil Rigs Shaped up as Living Hub with Underwater Research

Labs.” Designbuzz Design Ideas and Concepts Abandoned Oil Rigs Shaped up as Living Hub with

Underwater Research Labs Comments. April 6, 2011. Accessed October 14, 2014. http://ww.designbuzz. com/abandoned-oil-rigs-shaped-up-as-living-hub-with-underwater-research-labs/.

11. Meinhold, Bridgette. “Reclaiming Oil Rigs as Oceanic Eco-Resorts.” Inhabitat Sustainable Design Innovation Eco

Architecture Green Building Reclaiming Oil Rigs as Oceanic EcoResorts Comments. February 19, 2009.

Accessed October 14, 2014. http://inhabitat.com/oil-rig-eco-resort-by-morris-architects/.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay

15 near Sipadan, Malaysia. The renovated rig is now a 25-room hotel that caters to the aquatically adventurous. This area of the Celebes Sea is a national park and has extensive coral reefs and diving at the base of the hotel. Its industrial form is complemented by luxurious hotel rooms and diving accommodations12.

Sub-surface marine accommodation is fostered by the Seaventures resort’s structure. Bolstered by the diving features that attract tourists, the marine life thrives underneath the oil rig. Its situation in the coral triangle, the Seaventures resort is near one of the best diving locations in the world – Sipadan Island- and is host to varieties of tropical reef fish, pelagic fish, and larger reef life. The presence of the diving structure allows for the marine life to grow and accumulate around the oil rig, increasing the extents of the already flourishing coral reef triangle located there.

The opportunity to see this range of marine and reef life is capitalized by the Seaventures resort, as the structure is kept up by dive teams knowledgeable in the marine conditions in the local area. Adaptive re-use of oil rigs for wholly different productive spaces affirms that demolition is not economically or ecologically practical. These autonomous megastructures could be the future for commercial offshore architectural design and open up new niche job markets, just as the Seaventures resort has done in Malaysia.

Marinas Boating marinas are more accessible today than they were in earlier years, but often lack the architectural design which would enhance their function and foster a civic or commercial component. The planning of a boating marina involves transportation analysis, necessary amenities studies, landto-water relationships of components, and economy in layout. In all marina construction the same general set of principles are used to determine how to best economically serve the watercrafts in their harbor. Not all marinas serve the same purpose, however, and the deviation in marina development often is determined by the end user13. Marinas can be visual amenities to the community, acts of urban renewal and historic preservation, economic stimulants, or any combination of the aforementioned. Initially coined by the United States, marinas began as a recreational outlet. Today they are inundated by boats and serve as storage units when the boats are not in use. Just as there is a discrepancy between car ownership and available parking in urban environments, the sale of boats and availability of moorings is a legitimate issue13. Design competitions to revive downtown waterfronts creating larger points of economic, social, and cultural interest 12. Meinhold, Bridgette. “Former Oil Rig Transformed Into Diving Resort.” Inhabitat Sustainable Design Innovation Eco

Architecture Green Building Former Oil Rig Transformed Into Diving Resort Comments. September 22,

2010. Accessed October 09, 2014. http://inhabitat.com/former-oil-rig-transformed-into-diving-resort/.

13. Adie, Donald W. “General Design Principles.” In Marinas, a Working Guide to

Their Development and Design, 95-162. London: Architectural Press, 1984.

Maltzan Architecture, Michel. The Lens: The St. Petersburg Pier. PDF. St. Petersburg, 2012.

The Lens

BIG TEA M

BIG TEAM. BIG U Stage III Report. PDF. New York: Rebuild By Design, 2014.

The BIG U Rebuild By Design Competition Proposal

neighborhoods resilient U water forces

diagram by author The BIG U neighborhood resiliency

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay 16 and activity revolve around marinas as vehicles for change and improvement.

Marinas as Catalysts

graph by author Average Earnings in Thousands of Sectors in the Marine Industry

Domestic marina projects in Florida are garnering widespread public approval as downtown waterfronts are revitalized with an energetic architecture that actively engages the public with the water and the multiplicity of functions that occur there. Through a sequence of unconventional infrastructures, the bay, downtown, and waterfront are woven into one piece of public space in Michael Maltzan’s The Lens project14. Water sports, fishing, restaurants, cafes and reefs are all incorporated in the new design proposal for St. Petersburg’s waterfront.

In acknowledgement of the urban skyline, the Lens creates its own identifiable waterfront icon that in turn highlights the connection between shoreline and offshore.

New York and New Jersey are currently facing issues of how to defend their coasts from future coastal erosion and disasters as well. Designs that blur the boundary between nature and man are being proposed along Manhattan’s waterfront property by the BIG Team. In the BIG U, Manhattan’s diverse neighborhoods are each individually addressed by architectural protective measures that seamlessly blend into their cultural environment during periods of calm weather. The creative integration of civic and environmental concerns into the architectural coastal defensive measure sets a precedent for responsible architecture that addresses needs beyond infrastructural protection15. In this way, the public starts to see how architecture has the potential to positively impact community culture while also providing necessary protection from nature without imposing itself in a detrimental way.

Massachusetts Marine Culture

diagram by author Cultural | Economical Contributors to MA state

By the year 2000, a third of Massachusetts’ population resided on the coast. This number has remained consistent over the past three decades, and trends indicate that coastal inhabitation will likely continue this upward growth. Essex County has experienced the majority of their coastal growth in the last twenty years, with an increase of 5.95%16. These population trends are crucial to understanding the importance of the coast to the essence of Massachusetts as a state as well as the impact governmental measures, depleted fishing stocks, and storms have on these major coastal communities.

14. Maltzan Architecture, Michel. The Lens: The St. Petersburg Pier. PDF. St. Petersburg, 2012.

15 THE BIG TEAM. The BIG U: Rebuild by Design. PDF. New York: Rebuild By

Design, April 3, 2014.

16. Massachusetts Office Of Coastal Zone Management (Czm). “Trends in the Demographics of Human Population&

the Massachusetts Marine Economy.” Trends in the Demographics of Human Population and the

Massachusetts Marine Economy: 1-9. Accessed September 01, 2014. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/ czm/oceans/waves-of-change/tech-demogecon.pdf.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay

17 The marine economy is responsible for approximately 82,000 jobs that add considerable value to the Massachusetts state economy. Of utmost importance to the many coastal communities along Massachusetts’ waterfront is the preservation of jobs in the maritime industries because of the direct and indirect impacts to local economies. Due to their geographical placement, waterfront communities are attracting high levels of residential and commercial development. Land along the water is becoming scarce, and developers are manipulating zoning and port protection policies with local municipalities to take advantage of the valuable property16. The consequences of climate change, if unchecked, may profoundly affect the culture and economy as the cod and lobster industry rely heavily on ecological conditions heightened by human interference to the natural environment. It is projected that “the annual economic loss could be more than twice the losses from the recent flooding caused by heavy spring rains”5.

Seafood and fishing are part of the strong Massachusetts identity.

Historically, Massachusetts has been a big competitor in the marine fishing industries with coastal communities building their lives around the sea.

In recent years, however, the state has moved away from heavy reliance on commercial fishing, instead looking towards tourism for economic growth. The highest wages in the ocean economy are found in tourism and recreational fields, with commercial fishing falling behind as a result of newer governmental regulations. Ironically, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC cod black sea bass bluefin tuna bluefish bonito cusk false albacore haddock mackerel pollock scup smelts striped bass summer flounder tautog winter flounder

best

good

poor

diagram by author Monthly Fishing Calendar by Species

…supported one of the most valuable commercial fishing industries in the nation. In terms of revenue, the most lucrative fisheries in Massachusetts are scallops, lobster and lastly a variety of ground fish. Together, the commercial and recreational marine economies employ more than 80,000 people in Massachusetts, 40,000 from the seafood industry alone, and contribute close to $2 billion to the economy16.

(Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, p. 8) Lobstermen are symbolic icons of Massachusetts’ cultural ties to the water. Their jobs as lobstermen often are more of a lifestyle than just an occupation; close vicinity to the ocean is intrinsic to their continued success. Additionally, the American Lobster is the most valuable fishery in all of the northeastern United States. In 2006 alone, the value of lobster landings in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine came in at $363 million17. The reliance on lobstering has increased as the other fisheries are 16. Massachusetts Office Of Coastal Zone Management (Czm). “Trends in the Demographics of Human Population&

the Massachusetts Marine Economy.”

5. American Security Project. “Pay Now, Pay Later: Massachsuetts.” FACTS Massachusetts 17. Singer, Laura, and Daniel Holland, eds. Taking the Pulse of the Lobster Community: A Socioeconomic Survey of

New England Lobster Fishermen. Report. Gulf of Maine Research Institute, 2008.

diagram by author Stakeholders involved in the Coastal Problem

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay 18 decreasing in population and being put under heavier regulations. However, this change in fishing trend has placed more strain on lobstermen who previously relied on lobsters for income, as they are competing with more fishermen. Compounding the issues surrounding the more competitive lobstering market and depleting fisheries is the fact that as much as 12% of lobstermen in the Lobster Conservation Management Area did not graduate high school17…. Among these lobstermen, another 60% reported planning on lobstering for as long as they could, or for as long as was necessary. It is deduced that the threat to their coastal situation is fundamental in determining the continued viability of their occupation. As homes are threatened and communities face the realities of natural dangers on the coast, workers dependent on proximity to the water face challenges.

Relocation inland would add time onto their workdays, distance from their boats and landings, and disconnection from their resources. Finding work in another industry would be difficult due to the low level of education obtained, and median age of 50 doesn’t translate into a comparable experienced position in other fields.

Residents of coastal communities are aware of the implications that the fishing restrictions and depleted fisheries bring. Despite the lobster industry witnessing unprecedented highs in their landings17, governmental restrictions are hindering fishermen who make their living by the sea. The pressure to change the economic base of these communities leads to, in some cases, the sale of land for further development which would serve the tourist base16. Acknowledging that the current coastal economy has crossed over to recreation and tourism, it is of concern that with losses on the coast 9% of the state’s labor force is projected to be directly affected5.

In 2008 alone the state’s cod industry was worth $24 million.

Governmental Impacts Local fishermen and coastal communities feel the immediate impact of strict regulations imposed by the government on the way that commercial fishing is to be conducted. Compounded by depleted fisheries, commercial fishermen are being forced out of their livelihoods by new codes of practice. Species catch limitations, size requirements for keeping fish, seasons for fishing, as well as permits and licenses needed to legally trade as a commercial fisher all contribute to the downswing of the industry.

Brendan Stokes, Harbormaster in the town of Newbury, MA, recognizes the difficulty commercial fishermen have been facing as a result of stringent regulations. Witnessing a strong downward trend in the commercial fishing industry, common debate circles around the lack of data backing certain 17. Singer, Laura, and Daniel Holland, eds. Taking the Pulse of the Lobster Community: A Socioeconomic Survey of

New England Lobster Fishermen. Report. Gulf of Maine Research Institute, 2008.

5. American Security Project. “Pay Now, Pay Later: Massachsuetts.” FACTS Massachusetts 16. Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Mangament

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay

19 governmental measures. Once robust fishing ports such as Gloucester, MA are now starving out their fishermen who are unable to maintain their businesses with government regulations crippling the industry18.

Amenities supporting local fishermen are currently lacking in the Plum Island community because of the absence of a thriving industry. At the same time that commercial fishing is disappearing, recreational boating and fishing is skyrocketing18. Over the past few years the recreational fishing industry has increased to the point where it is now ranked the second most valuable in the country16.

The increase in recreational boating has strained current facilities, marinas, and docks. Boating down the Merrimack River one sees docks extending out farther into the water than ever before, and boat traffic is particularly heavy during the summer months18. Seen as both positive and negative, Stokes is continuously amazed at the jump in boating. More boats mean more traffic and more risk. Stokes recognizes the “constant demand for access to water” and believes that if more people could access the water it would economically benefit the local community.

Affected Communities Intrinsically tied to the boating and fishing culture is the need to address the eroding beaches serving waterfront communities. As discussed previously, the dense population along the state’s coast makes relocation unrealistic. The current state of the barrier islands is in flux as rising tides and coastal erosion are carving away at the protective beaches. Most recently, the Mother’s Day Flood of 2006 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012 have shone light on the negative impacts human development and flood mitigation has had on these narrow barrier islands and their ecologies.

Altering the cycles of the tidal infiltration in the salt marshes, exacerbating beach erosion, and affecting waterfowl and birds, humans have historically imposed on nature without considering the long-term implications.

Massachusetts’ coastal communities are steadfastly determined to keep their homes on the ocean despite repeated storm damage, increased insurance rates, and certain sea level rise. Scituate, MA is another barrier island that has been wrecked by the intense tidal waves, storms, and sea level rise. Historically a fishing town, Scituate is currently made up of occupants with business and sales jobs. Their commitment to maintaining their residences in the current location is as strong as those on Plum Island, though. A stone sea wall separates homes from the strong ocean, and in one specific case repairs have been needed 9 separate times over

18. “Boating and Fishing Questions about Plum Island, MA.” Telephone

interview by author. October 11, 2014.

16. Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management 19. Daley, Beth. “Oceans of Trouble for U.S. Taxpayers.” New England Center for Investigative Reporting. March 09,

2014. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://necir.org/2014/03/09/oceans-of-trouble-for-u-s-taxpayers/.

Boston Globe Staff. “Flood Insurance Policies per 1,000 Inhabitants in Massachusetts.”

Digital image. Boston Globe. January 19, 2014. Accessed November 15, 2014. http:// www.bostonglobe.com The number of flood insurance policies vary by community, but the threat of flooding remains constant for all coastal towns. In the event of major storms that cause damage to homes, the ability of the NFIP to assist homeowners with rebuilding and elevating their homes in preparation for the future is impeded due to the high number of policies. Additionally, some homeowners who have given up their policies face the reality of rebuilding or relocating with no federal assistance.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay 20

photograph by Cheryl Loughlin Privatized shore armoring on Plum Island with sand bags and additional stones

photograph by Cheryl Loughlin Federally-funded north jetty on Plum Island extending roughly 2,000 feet into the ocean from shore

boston.com Sea walls along Scituate, MA are in need of repairs after accumulating years’ worth of storm damage defending homeowners from the ocean.

stripersonline.com Groin fields were built along P.I.’s beach to help alleviate beach erosion.

recent years due to storm damage. At 48 Oceanside Drive, the National Flood Insurance Program has provided a total of $750,000 in insurance aid to fix damages accrued by storms. The amount of money spent by the NFIP on homes that are in repeatedly damaged areas is tremendous, and the agency itself is in debt by $24 billion19. The need to protect these towns in a sustainable way that also gives back to the community and not individual homeowners is necessary to make continued coastal living viable. Insurance bailouts are coming to an end as the country’s recent natural disasters (most recently Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina) have rendered the NFIP unable to assist with future claims.

Similarly, Provincetown on Cape Cod is a barrier island community that attracts as many as 60,000 tourists each summer. For a small year-round population of 3,000, this influx of visitors places high importance on the existing tourism and sales industries on the island. The reliance on tourists during the summer months in order to sustain the community’s economy throughout the rest of the year is in danger of collapse due to sea level rise and repeated storm damage. An architectural infrastructure designed to capitalize on the tourism industry by providing additional recreational outlets, serving the prominent boating community, and temporarily alleviating the already limited resources on the island itself would be a more sustainable solution to the problem. Plum Island, MA has in particular lost great amounts of beach in the past twenty years from coastal storms, beach erosion, and sea level rise. Powerful storms have claimed homes and displaced permanent residents who have nowhere else to go. In what typically took a century, Plum Island has lost 100 feet of beach in two decades20. Hard stone-walled jetties such as the ones seen at the mouth of the Merrimack River are criticized by environmentalists as being financially burdensome due to maintenance and ineffective as protection.

Sand dredging is a popular tool that many coastal communities are resorting to, including Plum Island. The mouth of the Merrimack River was dredged to improve the safety of navigation as its waters are dangerously shallow and pose a great risk to boaters. Private homeowners have pooled their resources together to dredge sand in front of their properties as a last effort to keep the waves at bay after petitions for state funding were denied. However, the introduction of new sand is detrimental in more ways than one. Oftentimes different grains and colors than the sand around it, sea life that originally was camouflaged no longer have natural protection.

Additional studies have shown that dredging is only temporarily affective, and in many cases washes away faster than the sand would naturally.

19. Daley, Beth. “Oceans of Trouble for U.S. Taxpayers.” New England Center for Investigative Reporting. March 09,

2014. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://necir.org/2014/03/09/oceans-of-trouble-for-u-s-taxpayers/.

20.Wade, Christian M. “Political Currents Pushing Coastal Buyback Program.” The Salem News.September 2014.

Accessed November 10, 2014. http://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/article_68fd88bb-5aaf- 549a-8f8f-8ae8b25bd429.html?mode=jqm.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay

The numerous repairs made to the jetties on the northern end of Plum Island exhibit the great strain placed on economies when funding these projects. Constructed in 1881, the jetties were built to a height of 12 feet above mean low water level, with a width of 15 feet. Two decades later, however, repairs totaling $8,730 were made to both jetties; this is equivalent to $223,000 spent in today’s economy. In total, the amount spent on repairs to the jetty from 1905 until 1970 is equivalent to $11,160,752 today22. Countless tons of stone were brought in from off-site locations to fortify the jetty structure as it deteriorated and broke down over the years. Under the 2013 Disaster Appropriations Act another $5.5 million was appropriated by the Army Corps of Engineers. This continued spending on a failing engineered system is the strongest case for a new typology defending the coasts from flooding while respecting the natural environment and its processes.

7. Carini, Frank 21. Aloe, Jessica. “Mass. Law Makes Flood Insurance More Affordable Yet Some

See Risks.” New England Center for Investigative Reporting, July 28, 2014. Accessed November 10,

2014. http://necir.org/2014/07/28/11996/.

22. Army Corps of Engineers. “NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT.” Repairs Made to

South Jetty in Newburyport New England District News Stories. May 30, 2013. Accessed November 10,

2014. http://www.nae.usace.army.

$8,730

Further temporary engineered coastal defense systems are witnessed in sea walls, jetties, groins, and sand-bagging. Particularly with sea walls and jetties, the erosion is quickened because the wave energy is absorbed all at once by the hard barrier at the edge of the beach. The lack of the beach in these cases eliminates the ability of nature to diffuse the wave energy as it approaches the shoreline. Scituate is lined with sea walls that have been breached during storms such as The Perfect Storm of 199121. The allusion of protection in these armored walls proves to have faults once they are broken, and water floods into the land and surrounding homes.

Flattening the tops of jetties increases the speed that waves have when crashing, as there is nothing impeding their path through to the other side.

Whereas previously the jetties on Plum Island had rough tops and worked to slow the wave energy to a degree, the smooth platforms now do nothing in terms of diffusing the incoming energy. Groins are shorter structures than jetties, but extend perpendicularly into the ocean to help prevent beach erosion and trap sand that would otherwise be swept down the beach. This has beneficial and negative side effects as sand accumulates on the updrift side of the groin, but often deprives the downdrift side of the groin of necessary sediment. Sand-bagging is resorted to at the last minute and also has diminishing returns in effectiveness. All of these fixes are impermanent solutions which exacerbate erosion and promote human development in vulnerable areas.

$223,0 00

21 Shoreline armoring with hard structures provides a false sense of security while simultaneously compromising surrounding property and habitat7.

8 $1

0 ,4 0

,6 30 $3

2 $60,48

$4,600

$8,814,541 $1,489,000

00

$1 43

, 70 0

1905-08

1917-18

1925

1936-38

$2 ,34 6

,21

2

1968-70

adjusted present day value

Costs of Plum Island Jetty Repairs Comparing Initial Prices to Adjusted Rates to Reflect Present Day Values diagram by author

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay 22

Funding for Infrastructural Project The cost of funding a coastal protection infrastructural project would largely fall on the shoulders of the state and federal governments and specific agencies within them. As a result of the scope of the project, individual towns and communities could assume no financial responsibility because of the off-shore location and its future trajectory. Different states have regulations on what is privately owned, state owned, and federally owned land extending from the beach out into the ocean. The coast line is “the line of ordinary low water along that portion of the coast which is in direct contact with the open sea”23. States lay claim to lands beneath navigable waters within boundaries specific to each state. Massachusetts in particular has state ownership of submerged lands from the coast line out 3 nautical miles, whereby the federal government then has ownership and jurisdiction. Recognizing that a coastal protective infrastructure would occur within a certain radius off of the coast, most likely within onequarter mile so the public can easily gain access, it can be deduced that each state would have to appropriate funds.

Due to the environmental and economic impacts of such a structure, the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, and Division of Marine Fisheries, and the National Flood Insurance Program would inevitably collaborate on funding and execution. The ability of the state to endure economic setbacks and financial burdens accrued from coastal damage to residents is diminishing.

Lowered flood insurance premiums were made for years by the federal government, which encouraged housing development and continued coastal living. In 2012 Congress phased out subsidies previously given to homeowners with damaged property, and replaced it with raised premiums were made for years by the federal government, which encouraged housing development and continued coastal living. In 2012 Congress phased out subsidies previously given to homeowners with damaged property, and replaced it with raised premiums in order to accurately reflect the dangers of living in flood-prone zones. This was vehemently rejected by homeowners who either never had to pay for flood insurance coverage, or were faced with staggering increases in premiums. In response to this measure of Congress, Obama’s Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act signed in March of 2014, limits insurance rate increases to 18% a year21 in attempts to decrease the financial strain placed on families in FEMA’s newly produced flood zones.

However, environmentalists are against these lenient amendments of the 23. S. 1301-1315, 43rd Cong., Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 67 (2002) (enacted).

21. Aloe, Jessica

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay

23 House and Obama because of its delaying the inevitable. The shock of new insurance policies is not reason to stop their implementation19. Realizing the danger of living on the coast is necessary in catalyzing changes in legislature and sustainability along the coast. A balance between the cost of protecting flood-prone homes and protecting the environment along the coasts is difficult to reach, yet must be viewed through the lens of sustainable, realistic infrastructure. As mentioned previously, a host of federal and state agencies would be involved in the execution of such infrastructural projects. The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) is under the umbrella of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and aspires to mediate impacts of human activity through the protection of coastal and marine resources.

As its objectives align with safeguarding the environment alongside the developed world, funding for coastal protective projects overseen by the CZM would be provided through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)16.

Architectural Potential Architecture is uniquely situated to mediate the needs of the public, property owners, boaters and fishermen, and the vital estuarine and marsh systems. Creative design does not need to be sacrificed in order to accomplish these goals. Typologies of marine infrastructures already exist that architecture can extrapolate into new, protective coastal structures. It is possible to draw from both successful and unsuccessful coastal design projects to inform a hybridized architectural solution that is responsive to the natural environment, addresses the needs of the robust recreational boating and fishing community, and works to alleviate some of the effects of coastal erosion. The lifespan of this architectural system is intended to surpass human utilization and ultimately function as a natural habitat for sea life. Hypothesizing about future uses of this architectural protective structure opens up possibilities to further the revitalization of struggling ecologies. As SCAPE/Landscape Team proposed in their Living Breakwaters intervention along Staten Island, constructed reefs and breakwaters can foster complex sea habitats, water-based activities, and social resiliency24. A new approach to coastal protection that accommodates ecologies through constructed reefs and fisheries, revitalizes communities via alleviation from tidal energy, and supports industries through innovative amenities producing positive outcomes for previously detrimental interventions.

19. Daley, Beth 16. Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management 24. SCAPE/Landscape Architecture PLLC. “SCAPE: Living Breakwaters.� SCAPE: Living Breakwaters. 2013. Accessed

August 31, 2014. http://www.scapestudio.com/projects/living-breakwaters/.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay 24 Projects that are focused around these aforementioned principles are appearing in proposals for areas experiencing adverse effects of coastal flooding and development. New York and New Jersey were devastated by Hurricane Sandy, and have since placed priorities on developing a system that prevents the same amount of damage from occurring in the future.

Architects and designers produced proposals that not only attempt to alleviate the damage done by these natural disasters, but also contribute beneficial social infrastructure. The BIG Team’s proposal for redeveloping Manhattan’s coastline incorporates a mix of social and civic program responsive to the unique characteristics of the neighborhoods and existing architectural conditions15. The protective system is not sacrificed in order to achieve this architectural solution; rather attention to the complex zones addressed. Another example of multi-functional offshore infrastructure is in Singapore at the Pulua Semakau eco-park landfill. This uniquely built island is in the ocean and has become a recreational outlet for fishermen, campers, bird watchers, and people interested in learning about the ecology of the landfill and its environment. Though surrounded by an impermeable membrane, the island produces clean water, fresh air, and a thriving environment with robust wildlife, fauna, and marine life. Breaking the mold of typical landfill uses, the Semakau landfill transcends into a vibrant offshore green environment25.

Revitalizing Marine Ecosystems Through Artificial Reefs Projects focused around artificial farming are in place in New England in order to reestablish the marine ecologies that have become depleted due to overharvesting, unclean water, and pollution. Among the more successful projects currently underway is the Billion Oyster Project in New York’s Harbor. In the 1600s there were 220,000 acres of oyster reefs in the Hudson River, and was “one of the most biologically productive, diverse, and dynamic environments on the planet”26. With the implementation of the Clean Water Act, the Billion Oyster Project took root and established a large scale restoration. Through educational models, volunteers, and active involvement in keeping the river clean, the Billion Oyster Project predicts one billion oysters living in 100 acres of artificial reefs; once again the Hudson will be the oyster capital26.

Artificial reefs are utilized as tools to mitigate natural habitat loss, increase recreational and commercial fishing, and help local fish populations bounce back. Aquaculture is used in New England to restore components of the aquatic ecosystem27. The construction of oyster reefs for water quality improvement, shore protection zones, and enhancing natural populations is one of the most significant examples of restoration 15. THE BIG TEAM 25. “Infrascape Design.” Infrascape Design. August 18, 2011. Accessed November 10, 2014.

26. Billion Oyster Project. “About BOP.” Billion Oyster Project About BOP Comments. 2013. Accessed November 23,

2014. https://www.billionoysterproject.org/about/.

27. Lapointe, George. Overview of the Aquaculture Sector in New England. PDF. Northeast Regional Ocean Council,

March 2013.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Essay

25 aquaculture. As overfishing, pollution, climate rise and human impact negatively impact aquatic ecosystems, the introduction of artificial reefs to coastal New England act to offset some of the incurred damages.

Massachusetts currently grows oysters, soft shell clams, quahog, bay scallops, and mussels through artificial reefs that are permitted by local municipalities27. The fact that artificial reefs are regulated under specific guidelines to ensure they are not detrimental to the existing ecosystem provides hope for their continued success. Variations in their application and combination with other programs will surely arise as artificial reefs become more utilized. Varieties of fish, algae, and shellfish flourish in these artificial reefs; habitats are created in the crevices of rocks and other materials, invertebrates inhabit the reef structures and filter algae, organic matter, and bacteria from the water column28.

The Brewster Island Reef is one of four artificial reefs along Massachusetts’ state coastline. East of the Boston Harbor, the constructed reef was implemented in 2006 by the Marine Fisheries to mitigate the anticipated biological damages accrued by the construction of the Hub Line. The entire reef is 1.7 acres in size, and has six rectangular segments of varying boulders arranged in parallel arrays28. This specific reef aims to provide habitats for finfish and invertebrates vital to Massachusetts’ marine economy such as the American lobster, cod, flounder, and sea scallops.

In order to track the success of the artificial reef, a naturally occurring reef near the site was located as a control. As the aquatic ecosystem is mediated through man-made construction, the public is encouraged to use the new site for fishing and diving29. As engineered infrastructures, these artificial reefs simultaneously apply to the role architecture has in designing efficient and effective systems that serve more than one user group. Architecture is situated to bridge the gap between civil engineering and architecture through multifunctional artificial reef structures that provide shoreline protection, recreational fishing and boating outlets for residents, and habitats for aquatic ecosystems.

One of the most powerful aspects of architecture is its ability to transform public opinion. Waterfronts are among the most beautiful landscapes in the world. New England’s coast is known for its picturesque harbors and stretch of sandy beaches. Just as lighthouses are iconic waterfront fixtures, offshore commercial architecture can become a symbol of environmentally conscious coastal protection as one of architecture’s responsibilities to address the need for protective coastal design. Through strategic placement of the offshore marina infrastructure, homeowners 27. Lapointe, George. Overview of the Aquaculture Sector in New England. PDF. Northeast Regional Ocean Council,

March 2013.

28. United States of America. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Executive Office of Energy and

Environmental Affairs. Mass.gov. By M. A. Rousseau. June 2008. Accessed November 23, 2014. http:// www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dfg/dmf/programsandprojects/artificial-reef-policy.pdf.

29. Glenn, Bob, and Kelly Whitmore. “Bottom Sediment Enhancement.” Energy and Environmental Affairs. 2014.

Accessed November 23, 2014. http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/programs-and-projects/ bottom-sediment-enhancement.html.

Massing Typologies for Plum Island diagrams by author

Linear Bar

Separated Bars

Double Loaded Bar

Radial

Bar with Breakwater

Bar Series with Breakwater

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 26 onshore would have an added layer of hybridized defense from the ocean. In accordance with Executive Order No. 181, the proposed architectural intervention will assist in making the navigation through the boating channel safer, slow the tidal energy of onshore homes while also accumulating sediment for beach replenishment30. Incorporating the diverse needs of residents on the island, tourists, fishermen and lobstermen, boaters, and the environment will result in a new typology of coastal protection. Designing the structures that safeguard the livelihoods of communities and encourage additional ecological growth will set a new standard of design and sustainable consideration. Transforming the traditional engineered shoreline armoring systems into architectural marinas that serve community and ecological needs generates a linear system of structure that can expand in length depending on the parameters of each particular coastal community. The benefits provided by the revitalizing marina infrastructure will not only benefit the barrier islands, but change opinions of how offshore infrastructures interact with the environment and coastal development.

30. S. Res., 188th Cong., Chapter 114 The 188th General Court of the Commonwealth of

Massachusetts (2008) (enacted).

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 27

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Annotated Bibliography 28

Annotated Bibliography Institution of Civil Engineers. “Facing Up to Rising Sea Levels.” Building Futures. Accessed August

28, 2014. http://www.buildingfutures.org.uk/projects/building-futures/facing-up.

As the United Kingdom is facing a changing physical environment due to rising sea-levels, the Institution of Civil Engineers partnered with Building Futures in order to develop a dialogue regarding the need to re-approach coastal design. Not only is the UK facing rising sealevels, but there are parts of the landmass that are starting to sink, and they have seen an increase in storm frequency. Due to the financial burden of tackling this kind of project, poor communication between all stakeholders, and planning interventions at inappropriate timescales, effective solutions have not yet been found. The Building Futures seeks to challenge designers, planners, and communities to view flood management as a new possibility for innovation. Can flood management be profitable? Three plans are proposed to approach flood management; retreat, defend, and attack. Looking at the various pros and cons for each strategy is an integral tool to understanding the most responsible and viable solution for a specific location. Attention has been paid to financial, economic, social, and environmental issues associated with incorporating flood management. As designers and planners for cities look at the new and evolving landscape, it is necessary to relinquish previous dispositions and open up to the possibilities of a new flood management typology.

Healey, Jane A. Regulating Residential Development on Massachusetts Barrier Islands:

Inadequacies, Opportunities, and the Case of Plum Island. Master’s thesis,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003. Cambridge: Department of Urban Studies Planning, 2003.

Plum Island is used as a case study for the investigation into responsible residential development on Massachusetts barrier islands. This thesis explores the difficulties of living on a barrier island such as Plum Island, but pushes the boundaries of design and proposes new methods of environmentally and economically viable development. The difficulties of working with a multitude of stakeholders are outlined in Healey’s thesis as well. As homeowners are deeply rooted to their homes, it is difficult for designers, engineers and planners to convince them of the questionable viability of their location. Developers are also jumping at the opportunity to build on these barrier islands as a result of their tremendous financial profit. After the integration of water and sewer lines to the developed 1/3 of Plum Island, more development would be allowed to occur. However, as Healey also explains, the coastal erosion, while a natural process, is being exacerbated by man-made interventions, development, and an increase in storms. Recognizing the importance of the salt marsh and barrier island ecosystem is fundamental in Healey’s proposals for revisions to developmental plans on the eroding beaches.

Hoel, Michael L. Land’s Edge: A Natural History and Field Guide to Barrier Beaches from Maine

to North Carolina. Newbury, MA: Little Book Pub., 1986.

Hoel studied the history behind the Atlantic glaciated coast and the actions of the sea against the barrier islands. Throughout history the coast has been bombarded by series of storms that have caused beach migration, coastal erosion, and a change in the topography. These phenomena are completely natural, yet are creating negative effects in the developed areas.

The developed land is also harming the natural ecosystem and its inhabitants. Salt marsh ecologies are extremely unique and are one of the most productive environments in the world.

Hoel elucidates the necessity to maintain their health in order to maintain equilibrium. Despite global sea-level rise, salt marshes are able to naturally adapt to the changing levels of the sea

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Annotated Bibliography

29 due to their composition. Understanding the fundamental functions of the salt marsh system, its food chain, and how it benefits the coast is vital to man’s future approach to development along the coast and on ever-changing barrier islands.

Massachusetts Office Of Coastal Zone Management (Czm). “Trends in the Demographics of Human Population & the Massachusetts Marine Economy.” Trends in the Demographics of Human Population and the Massachusetts Marine Economy: 1-9. Accessed September 01, 2014. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/oceans/waves-of-change/tech-demogecon. pdf.

The demographics of population trends within Massachusetts have shown to increase tremendously along the coast from the 1970s until 2000. Having 78 coastal communities, the population within these cities and towns accounts for 1/3 of Massachusetts’s entire population. More specifically, within Essex County the population grew 5.6% over thirty years and continues to show an upward trend in growth. The marine economy of Massachusetts is also fundamental to approximately 81,808 jobs. Not only contributing to the state’s economy, these industries are crucial to the coastal communities they serve. Residential and commercial development in coastal communities has outgrown that of the rest of the state and trends show it continuing in this way. The shift in primary industries also has a drastic effect on the success and livelihood of coastal economies. Tourism is taking a big role in economies as mineral production and commercial fishing have shrunken over the recent years. Smart development along the coastal communities needs to be environmentally conscious and respect the importance of the sea to the state’s economy and job market.

SCAPE/Landscape Architecture PLLC. “SCAPE: Living Breakwaters.” SCAPE: Living

Breakwaters. 2013. Accessed August 31, 2014. http://www.scapestudio.com/ projects/living-breakwaters/.

In response to the Rebuild By Design competition based along the New Jersey/New York coastline post Hurricane Sandy, SCAPE/Landscape Architecture, PLLC proposed a protective measure that integrated ecology, human culture, and risk reduction. By creating a long system of habitat breakwaters and constructed reefs, the risk of coastal flooding is drastically reduced because the wave energy is absorbed farther off shore. Additionally, these artificially created barriers catalyze the growth of protective ecosystems such as oyster colonies and other species of organisms. Approaching this system in a way that can be adapted to other future sites, the social demographics of coastal communities was considered. Communities most vulnerable to inundation often have populations with higher than average rates of poor English. As a tool to change this, SCAPE/Landscape incorporated learning facilities on the land that were associated with specific features in that region’s breakwater structure. Integrating the community into the overall design of the coastline and offshore plan was fundamental in making many, if not all, parts of the various communities feel connected to the flooding solution.

Daley, Beth. “Oceans of Trouble for U.S. Taxpayers.” New England Center for Investigative Reporting. March 09, 2014. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://necir.org/2014/03/09/oceans-of-trouble-for-u-s-taxpayers/.

Insurance premiums for homeowners along the coast are rising as legislature has been approved which would more accurately reflect the risks of living along the coast. However, many property owners are unprepared for the price increases because new federal flood plain maps have raised insurance rates for thousands of homes already facing the premium inflation. As sea levels rise and coastal storm frequency increases, the question of maintaining

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Annotated Bibliography 30 coastal living is at the forefront of discussion. Towns such as Scituate, MA are accustomed to extreme storm damage, and lay claim to 112 of the nation’s total 12,000 significant flood claims to the NFIP. Due to FEMA’s blind assistance policy, the amount of financial assistance awarded since 2005 has placed the program in $24 billion debt. Taxpayers are left with the bill, and many feel it is not the responsibility of every taxpayer to cover expenses of those living in risk-prone locations. As coastal living continues to be a popular trend and sea level rise is a fact, it is crucial to acknowledge how existing coastal protection infrastructure fails in the long term and is a tremendous economic burden. Opportunities for new protective typologies can emerge from the problems that are facing taxpayers, homeowners, and the environment.

Exec. Order No. 181, 3 C.F.R. 1 (1980).

The governor of Massachusetts created an executive order regarding barrier beaches and the measures to be taken in order to protect these essential resources. Barrier beaches are given first-priority help from state and federal programs. Additionally, this adoption of assistance was applied to the Statewide Outdoor Comprehensive Recreation Plan. Most notable, however, is that the largest amount of state and federal assistance is provided to those homeowners who are willing to relocate away from the disaster-prone coastal locations. The federal and state agencies acknowledge the risk and economic strain that comes from living on barrier beaches, and place emphasis on restricting development and encouraging relocation. Also laid out in this order is that state and federal funds and grants are not to be used to encourage development in the hazardous areas. Engineered infrastructures are to be located near navigation channels only to facilitate safer navigation. Providing an architectural intervention that improves navigation while protecting the existing homes onshore will set a new standard for development that does not increase the hazard of living on barrier islands, and potentially improves the economic burden by creating additional economic outlets.

Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Massachusetts Shoreline Change

Browser. 2014. Raw data. Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management,

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Through the GIS technology provided through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs the drastic changes in shoreline on Plum Island can be analyzed. The geography of the shoreline on the barrier island is constantly in flux due to its impermanence as a barrier island, yet the permanent development on the northern end of the island is subject to nature’s changing coastline. While these changes are not as noticeable day-to-day while living on the island, maps cumulatively show the changes throughout the years. With sea levels rising, these shoreline changes stand to become more drastic in coming years; leaving homeowners in hazardous conditions as the distance between their homes and the ocean diminishes.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 31

Annotated Bibliography

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Bibliography 32

Bibliography Aloe, Jessica. “Mass. Law Makes Flood Insurance More Affordable Yet Some See Risks.” New England Center for Investigative Reporting. July 28,

2014. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://necir.org/2014/07/28/11996/.

Adie, Donald W. “General Design Principles.” In Marinas, a Working Guide to Their

Development and Design, 95-162. London: Architectural Press, 1984.

“Advanced Water Purification Facility / Mainstreet Architects + Planners, Inc.”

ArchDaily. November 26, 2013. Accessed September 01, 2014. http://www. archdaily.com/451678/advanced-water-purification-facility- mainstreet-architects-planners-inc/.

American Security Project. “Pay Now, Pay Later: Massachusetts.” FACTS Massachusetts: 1-5. Accessed September 08, 2014. http:// americansecurityproject.org/resources/pnpl/Massachusetts%20FINAL.pdf.

ArcGIS, comp. “Shellfish Suitability Areas.” Map. Accessed October 17, 2014. ArcGIS. Army Corps of Engineers. ”NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT.” Repairs Made to South

Jetty in Newburyport New England District News Stories. May 30, 2013.

Accessed November 10, 2014. http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Media/

NewsStories/tabid/16387/Article/490613/repairs-made-to-south-jetty-in- newburyport.aspx.

Balters, Sofia. “Comprehensive, Integrated, Sustainable Water Management System for

the Greater New Orleans Region / Waggonner & Ball Architects.” ArchDaily.

August 4, 2011. Accessed August 30, 2014. http://www.archdaily.

com/151846/comprehensive-integrated-sustainable-water-management- system-for-the-greater-new-orleans-region-waggonner-ball-architects/.

Billion Oyster Project. “About BOP.” Billion Oyster Project About BOP Comments. 2013.

Accessed November 23, 2014. https://www.billionoysterproject.org/about/.

Blumberg, Deborah L. “The Oyster Is the Pearl,group Says?” The Oyster Is the

Pearl,group Says? April 16, 2004. Accessed November 23, 2014. http://www. downtownexpress.com/de_49/theoyster.html.

“Boating and Fishing Questions about Plum Island, MA.” Telephone interview by author.

October 11, 2014.

Bottari, Michael, Alicia Juang, and Beth Daley. “The Start Of The “Sand Wars”.” New

England Center for Investigative Reporting. December 18, 2013. Accessed

September 01, 2014. http://necir.org/2013/12/18/the-start-of-the-sand- warscoastal-communities-vie-for-sand-to-protect-against-rising-seas/.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Bibliography

33 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. “Marine Boundaries.” Map. BOEM. Accessed

November 10, 2014. http://www.boem.gov/Map-Gallery/.

Carini, Frank. “Erosion Happens: Can We Deal With It? - Climate Change

-.” Erosion Happens: Can We Deal With It? - Climate Change -.

January 14, 2014. Accessed August 31, 2014. http://www.ecori.

org/climate-change/2014/1/14/erosion-happens-can-we-deal- with-it.html.

Chmura, Gail L. “What Do We Need to Access the Sustainability of the Tidal Salt Marsh

Carbon Sink?” Elseveir Ocean & Coastal Management, 2011, 25+.

Costas, Susana, and Duncan FitzGerald. “Sedimentary Architecture of a Spit-end

(Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts): The Imprints of Sea-level Rise and

Inlet Dynamics.” Elseveir, 2011, 203+.

Daley, Beth. “Oceans of Trouble for U.S. Taxpayers.” New England Center for

Investigative Reporting. March 09, 2014. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://necir.org/2014/03/09/oceans-of-trouble-for-u-s-taxpayers/.

Doherty, Amy J., Duncan M. FitzGerald, and Ilya V. Buynevich. “Evidence of Storm-

dominated Early Progradation of Castle Neck Barrier, Massachusetts, USA.”

Elseveir, 2004, 123+.

Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Massachusetts Shoreline Change

Browser. 2014. Raw data. Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management,

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Exec. Order No. 181, 3 C.F.R. 1 (1980).

Gill, Tom. Frigid Waters. September 11, 2013. Frozen World, Flickr. Accessed September

20, 2014. http://twistedsifter.com/2013/09/lake-michigan-frozen-pier-and- lighthouse/.

Glenn, Bob, and Kelly Whitmore. “Bottom Sediment Enhancement.” Energy and

Environmental Affairs. 2014. Accessed November 23, 2014. http://www.mass. gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/programs-and-projects/bottom- sediment-enhancement.html.

Google. Google Earth. Map. S.l.: Google, 2004.

Healey, Jane A. Regulating Residential Development on Massachusetts Barrier

Islands: Inadequacies, Opportunities, and the Case of Plum Island. Master’s

thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003. Cambridge: Department

of Urban Studies + Planning, 2003.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Bibliography 34 Hein, Christopher J., Duncan M. Fitzgerald, Emily A. Carruthers, Byron D. Stone, Walter

A. Barnhardt, and Allen M. Gontz. “Refining the Model of Barrier Island

Formation along a Paraglacial Coast in the Gulf of Maine.” Elseveir, 2012, 40+.

Hoel, Michael L. Land’s Edge: A Natural History and Field Guide to Barrier Beaches from

Maine to North Carolina. Newbury, MA: Little Book Pub., 1986.

Holland, F. Ross. “Lighting America’s Shores.” In Great American Lighthouses, 9-27.

Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press, 1989.

“Infrascape Design.” Infrascape Design. August 18, 2011. Accessed November 10,

2014. https://infrascapedesign.wordpress.com/tag/artificial-islands/.

Institution of Civil Engineers. “Facing Up to Rising Sea Levels.” Building Futures.

Accessed August 28, 2014. http://www.buildingfutures.org.uk/projects/ building-futures/facing-up.

Jordana, Sebastian. “Halo / DHV Architects.” ArchDaily. May 4, 2010. Accessed August 30, 2014. http://www.archdaily.com/58687/halo-dhv-architects/.

Kiger, Patrick J. “Rebuilding by Design: The Art of Resilience - Urban Land Magazine.”

Urban Land Magazine Rebuilding by Design The Art of Resilience Comments.

August 25, 2014. Accessed August 30, 2014. http://urbanland.uli.org/ sustainability/art-resilience/.

Kronenburg, Robert, Joseph Lim, and Wong Yunn. Chii. “Oil and Water: Offshore

Architecture.” In Transportable Environments 3:, 30-38. London: Taylor &

Francis, 2006.

Lapointe, George. Overview of the Aquaculture Sector in New England. PDF. Northeast

Regional Ocean Council, March 2013.

LeCuyer, Annette W. “Millenium Bridge - London - 2001.” In Steel and Beyond:

New Strategies for Metals in Architecture, 22-27. Basel: Birkhauser-Publishers

for Architecture, 2003.

Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Office. Parker River/Essex Bay ACEC.

Massachusetts Coastal Zone Mangagement. Accessed October 27, 2014. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/habitat/preb/preb-brochure.pdf.

Massachusetts Office Of Coastal Zone Management (CZM). “Trends in the

Demographics of Human Population & the Massachusetts Marine Economy.” Trends in the Demographics of Human Population and

the Massachusetts Marine Economy: 1-9. Accessed September 01, 2014. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/oceans/waves-of-change/tech- demogecon.pdf.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Bibliography

35 McDonnell, M. J. “Trampling Effects on Coastal Dune Vegetation in the Parker River

National Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts, USA.” Biological Conservation 21

(1989): 289+.

Meinhold, Bridget. “Reclaiming Oil Rigs as Oceanic Eco-Resorts.” Inhabitat Sustainable

Design Innovation Eco Architecture Green Building Reclaiming Oil Rigs as

Oceanic EcoResorts Comments. February 19, 2009. Accessed October 14,

2014. http://inhabitat.com/oil-rig-eco-resort-by-morris-architects/.

“Town of Newbury, MA - Plum Island Erosion Information.” Town of Newbury,

MA - Plum Island Erosion Information. Accessed August 29, 2014. http://www. townofnewbury.org/pages/plum_island_erosion.

NOAA. “Land Water.” Compiled by ArcGIS. Accessed October 27, 2014. http://www.

arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimagery. arcgisonline.com%2Farcgis%2Frest%2Fservices%2FLandsatGLS%2FLandWat er%2FImageServer&source=sd.

North Cormorant Platform. 2012. Edited by Oil Job Review. Accessed October 14,

2014. http://oiljobreview.com/popular/offshore_platform.html.

Rosenfield, Karisa. “Final Design Proposals for the St. Petersburg Pier Design

Competition.” ArchDaily. December 2, 2011. Accessed October 14, 2014. http://www.archdaily.com/188775/final-design-proposals-for-the-st- petersburg-pier-design-competition/.

Seaventures Dive Resort. August 30, 2013. The Luxurious Afterlives of Abandoned Sea

Forts and Rigs. Accessed October 8, 2014. http://io9.com/the-luxurious- afterlives-of-abandoned-sea-forts-and-oil-1227566417.

S. 1301-1315, 43rd Cong., Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 67 (2002) (enacted).

S. Res., 188th Cong., Chapter 114 The 188th General Court of the Commonwealth of

Massachusetts (2008) (enacted).

SCAPE/Landscape Architecture PLLC, BIG Team, HR&A Advisors, Inc., Cooper,

Robertson & Partners, Interboro Team, MIT CAU+ZUS+URBANISTEN, OMA,

PennDesign/Olin, Sasaki/Rutgers/Arup, WXY/West8, and Unabridged Coastal

Collective. “Rebuild By Design | A Regional Analysis - Coastal Protection.”

Rebuild By Design. Accessed August 25, 2014. http://www.rebuildbydesign. org/research/approaches/coastal-protection.

SCAPE/Landscape Architecture PLLC. “SCAPE: Living Breakwaters.” SCAPE: Living

Breakwaters. 2013. Accessed August 31, 2014. http://www.scapestudio.com/ projects/living-breakwaters/.

8ae8b25bd429.html?mode=jqm.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Bibliography 36 Singer, Laura, and Daniel Holland, eds. Taking the Pulse of the Lobster Community:

A Socioeconomic Survey of New England Lobster Fishermen. Report. Gulf of

Maine Research Institute. 2008 United States of America. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Executive

Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Mass.gov. By M. A. Rousseau.

June 2008. Accessed November 23, 2014. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/ dfg/dmf/programsandprojects/artificial-reef-policy.pdf.

US Army Corps of Engineers. “NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT.” Repairs Made to South Jetty

in Newburyport New England District News Stories. May 30, 2013. Accessed

November 10, 2014. http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Media/NewsStories/ tabid/16387/Article/490613/repairs-made-to-south-jetty-in-newburyport.aspx.

Vidojevic, Milorad, Milica Pihler, and Jelena Pucarevic. Lady Landfill Skyscraper. PDF.

Institut De France: Foundation Jacques Rougerie Generation Espace Mer, 2012.

Wade, Christian M. “Political Currents Pushing Coastal Buyback Program.” The Salem News. September 2014. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://www.

salemnews.com/news/local_news/article_68fd88bb-5aaf-549a-8f8f- 8ae8b25bd429.html?mode=jqm.

Woodroffe, Colin D., and Colin V. Murray-Wallace. “Sea-level Rise and Coastal Change:

The past as a Guide to the Future.” Elseveir Quarternary Science Reviews,

2012, 4+.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 37

Bibliography

38

39

CASE STUDIES

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Inspiration 40

KENT PIER MARINA

Herne Bay, Kent, UK 2007 Atomik Architecture The Kent Pier Marina won the BURA 21st Century Pier Competition with a revitalized pier for the Herne Bay community. Its strong visual identity is meant to reinvigorate the beach community in Kent and pay homage to the architectural heritage of the pier. Elements of the original pier are integrated into the new structure, and form a protective loop around the historic pieces. Incorporated into the preserved structure are radiating recreational nodes which function alongside the central civic center to add economic vitality to the coastal community and town. The solid breakwaters surrounding the non-tidal marina create a marina that houses not only docks for boaters, but recreational facilities which would make it a national destination for visitors.

pier center

non-tidal marina activity nodes

pier connection

water breakwalls

diagram by author

Atomik Architecture. “Kent Pier Marina.�

Atomik Architecture. 2013. Accessed September 24, 2014. http://www. atomikarchitecture.com top and bottom images

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Inspiration

41

ST. JOSEPH NORTH PIER LIGHTHOUSE Lake Michigan, MI 1906

Built more than a century ago, the lighthouse on St. Joseph’s north pier is a monument that attracts visitors from all over during the winter months. As it is bombarded by the waves from Lake Michigan during storms, a sculptural layer of ice takes form on its entire structure. The piers at St. Joseph are the only ones on the Great Lakes that still have their catwalks and range lights. The attempts of the community to create a historical landmark out of the lighthouses and making them accessible to the public make clear the great importance of the lighthouse icon. A permanent fixture on the horizon, the inner and outer lighthouses are a distinct characteristic of this region that serve the dual purpose of directing boaters as well as animating the seascape during stormy months.

“St. Joseph Pier Lighthouse.”

LighthouseFriends. January 2013.

Accessed September 24, 2014. http://www. lighthousefriends.com top image

Gill, Tom. “Lake Michigan’s Famous Frozen Pier and Lighthouse.” TwistedSifter (blog), September 11, 2013. Accessed September 24, 2014. http://twistedsifter.com middle and bottom image

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Inspiration 42

MILLENIUM BRIDGE

London, UK 2001 Foster and Partners, Arup, Anthony Caro Solely for pedestrian use, the Millenium Bridge is a critical link for the city of London over the Thames River. Spanning 340 meters, the Bridge responds to the different urban contexts at both ends. As the Tate Modern is at the southern end and St. Paul’s and the city are to the north, it is necessary for appropriate scales to meet these contexts. Acknowledging the existing axis of St. Peter’s steps towards the river, the north end of the Bridge is direct. On the southern end, however, the primary focus is on connecting the Bridge with the pedestrian walkway along the river and keeps the Tate Modern off-axis.

Despite its steel construction, the bridge itself has an organic feel dur to its ability to respond to the natural environment and weather conditions.

The close proximity to the edge of the bridge affords uninterrupted panoramic views and creates a tremendous void between the ground plane and the river below.

LeCuyer, Annette W. “Millenium Bridge London - 2001.” Steel and Beyond: New Strategies for Metals in Architecture. Basel: Birkhauser-Publishers for Architecture, 2003.

22-27. Print. with diagrams by author

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Inspiration

43

MEDIATHEQUE 6 5 4 3 2

1

b

Sendai, Japan 2000 Toyo Ito & Mutsuro Sasaki Designed as a civic building for Sendai, Japan, the Mediatheque uses a hybrid open floor plan to allow for the possibility of a variety of programs to occur in the same building.

Geometric and non-geometric forms are incorporated into the building’s structure. The combination of regular floor slabs and “seaweeds dancing in the water” as irregular columns extending through the building allow the relationship between solid and void to defy conventions. These antithetical columns extend the full height of the structure and bring light down their tubes into the spaces below and reveal the nature of the elements that are stored within them; ranging from stairs, mechanical services and elevators.

The public is able to see the activities inside due to its transparent facade that hides nothing.

http://www.soul-guidance.com/health/ media/seaweed.jpg middle image LeCuyer, Annette W. “Mediatheque - Sendai 2001.” In Steel and Beyond: New Strategies for Metals in Architecture, 74-79. Basel: Birkhauser-Publishers for Architecture, 2003. top and bottom images with diagrams by author

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Analysis 44

THE LENS

St. Petersburg Pier, FL Michael Maltzan Architecture

co ny

Le ve

St. Petersburg’s Pier is transformed by the Lens as it creates another skyline on the water and inserts itself as an icon for the city and waterfront. This proposed infrastructrue integrates ecological, economic, urban and individual scales into a pier. The layering of ellipses allows for pedestrians and cyclists to view the ocean at close range and from high above as if at the top of a skyscraper.

Acting as the connective tissue between downtown and the waterfront, the Lens maintains the personality and character of the city and its vicinity to the water.

Breaking down the urban context of the downtown is a civic green loop containing the majority of the economic amenities looping out to the pier. The Lens wraps in on itself and sends visitors back downtown after seeing the existing pilings, marine life, recreational activities and public floating gardens. diagram by author Cycle of St. Petersburg urban environment through the green loop on the Pier culminating at the end of Kent Pier which accentuates the downtown skyline.

Maltzan Architecture, Michael. The Lens: The St. Petersburg Pier. PDF. St. Petersburg: Michael Maltzan Architecture, 2013. with overlay diagrams by author

fig.14

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Analysis

45

/R oo fL ev el

el

St .P et e

Maltzan Architecture, Michael. The Lens: The St. Petersburg Pier. PDF. St. Petersburg: Michael Maltzan Architecture, 2013. with diagrams by author

88 ’-0 ”

’ 300

+

’ 150 ’ 50

+

60 ’-0 ”

/B al co ny

Le ve l

0’

+

12 ’-0 ”

/P ro m

en ad e

Le ve l

Activities occur sectionally at various levels of the pavilion as the arcing pathways rise and fall above the mean tidal line and major pedestrian pathway.

fig.14

fig.15

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Analysis 46

LADY LANDFILL SKYSCRAPER Great Pacific Garbage Patch Vidojevic, Pihler, Pucarevic

In response to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a team of architects designed a solution that would collect, recycle, breakdown, and enliven the zone of the ocean affected by the 3.5 million ton trash heap. The concept driving this design was the harm caused by industrialization. Inverting one of the most iconic infrastructures, the Lady Landfill Skyscraper postulates that reversible actions can be taken to help alleviate the harm caused by accumulated trash.

Its verticality functions to connect all the processes occurring within the structure, as well as hiding the primary activities from the eye. Similar to an iceberg, the landfill skyscraper is disproportionately weighted under water. Functions are divided among the structure based on hierarchy and the workers needed for the recycling factory are able to live in the same structure that they are working in and on.

Clean Our Oceans Refuge Coalition. Great Pacific Garbage Patch. March 7, 2014. Ocean Watch. Accessed September 20, 2014. oceanwatch.us. top image Vidojevic, Milorad, Milica Pihler, and Jelena Pucarevic. Lady Landfill Skyscraper. PDF. Institut De France: Foundation Jacques Rougerie Generation Espace Mer, 2012. middle image

diagram by author

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Analysis

factory | recycle | live | recreation collection of waste | dump

invisible

invisible

collection of waste | dump

visible

Populating the Pacific, the system of seascrapers add a new visual topography and identity. Defining the boundary between land and sea, the horizon line is replicated in each seascraper throughout the garbage heap. The program within the structures is concealed by the water and allows for an uninterrupted scenic landscape of industrial and ecological archipelagos.

visible

factory | recycle | live | recreation

47

Vidojevic, Milorad, Milica Pihler, and Jelena Pucarevic. Lady Landfill Skyscraper. PDF. Institut De France: Foundation Jacques Rougerie Generation Espace Mer, 2012. with overlay diagrams by author

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Analysis 48

G TEA M

THE BIG “U”

Manhattan, NY 2013 BIG The BIG U addresses the physical and social needs of protecting Manhattan and greater New York City from rising sea levels and threatening storms.

Stretching 10 miles, the “U” has specific programmed compartments relating to the neighborhoods’ characters. Three integrated regions of the newly planned waterfront contain flood-protection zones, flood isolation zones, and social and community integration. The aesthetic appearance of the U is designed such that its multiplicity of functions are not immediately recognized.

Storm breakers are seamlessly integrated into cultural amenities that lend themselves to social enjoyment, ecological replenishment, pedestrian access, and economic development.

Sectional variation is taken advantage of to create flexible zones that can change depending on the state of the weather and need to defend against floods.

THE BIG TEAM. The BIG U: Rebuild by Design.

PDF. New York: Rebuild By Design, April 3, 2014. top image

Various stakeholders influenced the design of the flood barrier. Human activity, ecology, economic impact and protection all weighed into the decision of how to treat the built structure.

diagram by author

neighborhoods resilient U water forces

O NA

ME

NO

NA

ME

MON

TG

NO

OM

Y ST ER

NA

ME

GO

UV

HARBOR BATH LOOK-OUT BIKEWAY ALONG NEW BERMSCAPE

9'-8"

exIsTINg bRIDges

FERRY

FISHING

ER

NE

UR

ST

SO JACK

N ST

11'-4"

SO JACK

N ST

EX

thE bridging bErm RAMP

T

8'-0"

YVESANT LO N

DELANCEY ST

ST

BERM

E 16 ST

RY

ER

28'-11"

E 15 ST

DELANCEY ST S

GRAND ST

CH

16'-0"

OV

ST

MANGIN ST

6'-10"

HISTORIC SHIP DOCK

BIKEWAY

VE SA NT

RY

BERNARD BARUCH BRIDGE

8"

EAST RIVER PARK SLURRY WALL THE BRIDGING BERM

E 14 ST

DELANCEY ST

ER CH

MAINTAINED EXISTING SPORTS FIELDS

CON-ED FLYOVER PASSAGE

CONRETE CAP WALL AND SHEET PILE

COMPACTED EMBANKMENT

E 13 ST

E 10 ST

ME NA

10TH ST. BRIDGE

THE BIG TEAM. The BIG U: Rebuild by Design.

PDF. New York: Rebuild By Design, April 3, 2014.

PLAZAS

TOP SOIL

RECYCLED ASPHALT BIKEWAY

E 14 ST

NO NAME

E 12 ST

E 6 ST

ST

NO

6TH ST. RIDGE

LILIAN WALD BRIDGE HOUSTON ST. BRIDGE

16'-0"

CONCRETE BLOCK

E 12 ST

CON-ED DEPLOYABLE BARRIER

JACOB RIIS BRIDGE

9'-0"

CLAY CAP

NO NAME

E 9 ST

E 5 ST

BIG TEAM

BARUCH PL

DELANCEY ST.BRIDGE

3'-10"

BIG TEAM

AV D

BARUCH DR

MANGIN ST

LO E

E 10 ST

E 8 ST

E 7 ST

E 6 ST

E 4 ST

E 3 ST

SZOLD PL

E HOUSTON

BROOME ST

DELANCEY ST S

ST

LA

GREEN BRIDGES

3'-2"

E 13 ST

E 5 ST

E HOUSTON ST

RIVINGTON ST

ISON

MAD

W

GRAND ST.BRIDGE CORLEARS HOOK BRIDGE

AV C

AV D

LEWIS ST

BARUCH DR

E 12 ST

E 11 ST

E 4 ST

STANTON ST

DELANCEY ST S

Y ST NR

ST

R DR FD

ER WAT LEWIS ST

STUYVESANT

AV C

COLUMBIA ST

COLUMBIA ST

STRENGTHENED CANNON ST GREEN STREETS

E 9 ST

E 7 ST

E 5 ST

Case Studies: Analysis

SHERIFF ST

ABRAHAM KAZAN ST

AV B

AV C

DELANCEY ST

GRAND ST

BIALYSTOKER PL

HE

49

E 3 ST

PITT ST

BIALYSTOKER PL

E 2 ST

ST

rk

RIVINGTON ST

RY

ER

PZ

ST UY

E 8 ST

ST

CH

SAMUEL DICKSTEIN

AV B

E 6 ST

ISON MAD

Y ST NR

AY DW

HE

OA BR

AV B

RIDGE ST

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray ng bErmResisting the Waves

UYVESANT LO S

ST

E 4 ST

EA

ATTORNEY ST

ATTORNEY ST

RIDGE ST

GREEN WALL

CAR ROAD

BIG TEAM

EaSt C3 rivEr Park

easT RIveR paRk ReDUx

The UNDUlaTINg beRm

The Bridging Berm provides robust vertical protection for the neighborhood from future storm surge and rising sea levels, while providing pleasant and accessible As the berm makes its way along the edge of the park, it widens to provide routes into the park from the Lower East Side. Berms and bridges offer plentiful planting and social space, and narrows to accommodate unprogrammed sports fieldsspots andforother resting, socializing, and enjoying the prospect offered overfrequent the park andintervals river. Both berms existing park programs. Ramps and bridges are inserted at on and bridges are planted with a diverse selection of salt tolerant trees, shrubs and perennials, providing a resilient urban habitat. major upland streets in the neighborhood, in conjunction with green Facingconcentrated the FDR, the berm hosts a series of terraced pockets planted with tough species, to which filterpark. car exhaust and enhance the view from the highway. infrastructure enhancements, offering easy and legibleurban corridors the These corridors then culminate in new program elements at the water’s edge: an in-river, filtered Harbor Pool for swimming, a pair of lookout piers, a dedicated fishing pier, a potential ferry or water taxi dock, and more.

3'-2"

3'-10"

+9’ FOOT SPLASH ALLOWANCE +8’ FEMA 2050 100 YEAR FLOODPLAN

16'-0"

+5’ SANDY +4’ FEMA 2050 50 YEAR FLOOD PLAN

9'-0"

8"

CONCRETE BLOCK

6'-10"

TOP SOIL

122

BALL FIELD

CONRETE CAP WALL AND SHEET PILE

CLAY CAP

rebuild by design - the big u

COMPACTED EMBANKMENT RECYCLED ASPHALT BIKEWAY

GRASS

SLURRY WALL

16'-0"

28'-11"

8'-0"

11'-4"

BIKEWAY

BERM

RAMP

GREEN WALL

9'-8"

123

exIsTINg bRIDges

CAR ROAD

geNeROUs laNDsCape CONNeCTIONs

C3

127

rebuild by design - the big u

The UNDUlaTINg beRm As the berm makes its way along the edge of the park, it widens to provide planting and social space, and narrows to accommodate sports fields and other existing park programs. Ramps and bridges are inserted at frequent intervals on major upland streets in the neighborhood, in conjunction with concentrated green infrastructure enhancements, offering easy and legible corridors to the park.

These corridors then culminate in new program elements at the water’s edge: an in-river, filtered Harbor Pool for swimming, a pair of lookout piers, a dedicated fishing pier, a potential ferry or water taxi dock, and more.

geNeROUs laNDsCape CONNeCTIONs

126

rebuild by design - the big u

127

BIG explored the question of how people would interact with the protective wall. Would it be a typical wall, or reappropriated for interchangeable uses? diagrams by author

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Analysis 50

LIVING BREAKWATERS Staten Island, NY 2013 SCAPE Studio

The regional network developed by SCAPE reduces the risk of tidal surge and rising sea levels, revives local ecologies, and provides educational links back to the shoreline. Draping around Staten Island like a necklace, the breakwaters bridge the gap between people and the water while also providing protection against erosion and flood damage. Educational hubs are situated within neighborhoods and respond to the unique living infrastructure protecting that part of the Island.

Through the network of breakwaters and constructed reefs, the wave action is lessened as it works its way onshore. Ecologies are revived as they take root in the created habitats.

Close proximity to neighborhoods fosters a sense of responsibility among residents and makes informed stewards of the shoreline.

diagram by author

SCAPE/Landscape Architecture PLLC. “SCAPE: Living Breakwaters.� SCAPE: Living Breakwaters. 2013. Accessed August 31, 2014. http://www.scapestudio.com/projects/ living-breakwaters/.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Case Studies: Analysis

51 Micro pockets of habitats are created along the system of constructed reefs and breakwaters. Oysters are tremendously efficient at cleaning the water and are created in the niches of the rocky outcropping of breakwaters.

The dual faces of these landscaped systems slow the wave action and its sloped face in the tidal flat fosters the development of more environmental systems such as salt marshes, mud flats, and bird nesting sites.

SCAPE/Landscape Architecture PLLC. “SCAPE: Living Breakwaters.” SCAPE: Living Breakwaters. 2013. Accessed August 31, 2014. http://www.scapestudio.com/projects/ living-breakwaters/. with diagram by author

HIGH GROUND1

00YR FLOOD PLAIN COASTAL EDGE

TIDAL FLATSI

NTERTIDALN

AV. CHANNEL

diagrams by author

52

53

PROGRAM

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Program 54

MARITIME YOUTH HOUSE | PLOT youth house sailing club wooden deck

PLOT = BIG + JDS Copenhagen, Denmark Client: Kvaterloft Copenhagen, Loa Fund Constructed Area: 21,528 sq. ft 2004 Budget: $1,950,000

youth house sailing club

Located on a site with polluted topsoil, the team of architects covered the entire site with a safe wooden deck in order to avoid a complete site excavation. As a result, the architectural concept allowed for a negotiation between the two very different client needs. The Youth House required outdoor program for the children to run and play on, while the Sailing Club needed the majority of their space to be covered for boat storage and mooring. The undulating ground plane creats ample outdoor space for the Youth House as well as covered storage for boats. In this way the program is dispersed across the site creating layers of spaces. The roofs of the program have multiple functions as their interior serves the needs of one client while its exterior is utilized by the other. By lifting up the ground plane, two disperate clients requirements were addressed and the relationship to the waterfront is strengthened.

wooden deck

fig. # Maritime Youth House

land

maritime sea youth house

diagram by author

diagram by author

youth house sailing club

youth house sailing club land

youth house sailing club wooden deck

fig. # with overlay by author

wooden deck maritime sea youth fig. # house

wooden deck

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Program

55

FRUIT SALAD | Riverside

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION

Urban Infrastructure Redeployment

STRUCTURE

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION

fig. # Fruit Salad Urban Redeployment

CIRCULATION

STRUCTURE

fig. # with overlay by author

diagram by author Distribution of Goods Throughout Market

CIRCULATION

Team: Christian Barrera, Alejandro Gerardo Alaniz, Ivan Gabriel Baez, Patricio Francisco Cuello Manaus, Brazil Holcim Awards “Next Generation” 1st Prize 2014 Latin America Proposed 2014 As the levels of the Amazon River fluctuate greatly between the rainy season and dry season, the city of Manaus faces flooding problems along its riverbanks. To mediate this problem, the Fruit Salad project proposes relocating all of the activities currently occuring along the waterfront to a floating structure in the river.

Mixed architectural uses generate multifunctional networks which foster the development of relationships between citizens and the culture of Manaus’ waterfront. Architectural programs are mixed within this structure and create an extension of the urban network on the river.

Regional goods markets support the water-based trade and exchange, and are further supported by regional ports and restaurants where their goods may be bought and sold. Recreational, commercial, and social needs are fulfilled through a strategic mixing of program across the structure both vertically and horizontally.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Program 56

FISH MARKET|Maha Lellama Negombo Sri Lanka

Wishwa Madwanka Welikanna Maha Lellama, Sri Lanka Major Design Project 2010 University of Moratuwa Negombo island is situated such that porting boats and Lorries transporting fish from the upper region are easily accessible from both land and sea.

This transportation hub is ideal for a fish market that responds to the array of activities of the urban context.

Three blocks are generated from site lines and functions. The spaces within the structure are defined by the activities occurring on the island and are organized with anticipated change of use over time. While it is a large structure, it is not imposing on its surrounding environment because of its blending into the natural and urban landscape. Retail market stalls, fish equipment stalls, communication and community pathways all contribute to the re-engagement of the community with the fish market at all hours of the day. The functions and activities on the water are integrated into the urban activities through the implementation of a new fish market structure.

fig. # view from main road

fig. # with overlay by author

fig. # with overlay by author

fig. # with overlay by author

fig. # with overlay by author

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Program

57

KASTRUP SEA BATH

fig. # Kastrup Sea Bath seen from beach

fig. #

transition public private fig. # with overlay by author

fig. # with overlay by author Wind Protection

diagram by author Opening Up of Circle to Connect with Beach

diagram by author

White arkitektur AB Kastrup, Denmark Client: Tarnby Municipality Buildings Area: approx. 11,840 ft2 Landscape Area: approx. 32,292 ft2 2005 The new sea bath in Kastrup creates a living and integral part of the sea front.

There is a primary building on the water that is connected to the beach by a boardwalk. The circular construction of this water structure gradually rises above the ocean’s surface and ends at a 5 meter diving platform. The bath is supported by slender piers that rise about a meter above the water.

The building’s program consists of 870 m2 of wooden swim deck, 70m2 changing facilities, and of 90m2 service building onshore. The silhouette of the structure changes as people walk through it and sheltered bathing and swim areas are created due to its circular form. Free public access to this sea bath allows for continued use over the course of the year, and people of all ages and abilities can take advantage of its vicinity to the water because of its informal design which invites activities to occur based on the participating occupants.

Public and private program is located on opposite ends of the sea bath, with a primary pier connecting to the beach. A dichotomy in section is seen bewteen private and public uses on the structure.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Program Analysis 58

PROGRAM

To address the immediate need for protection against wave energy while connecting the community onshore to the funciton of this protective system, the breakwater will integrate program suited for commercial fishermen, a coast guard station, and an educational storm watch center. The necessity of breaking the wave action will be immediately accomplished through the structure of the breakwater, and sediment will accumulate naturally on the shore-side for replenishment along the shoreline. The ecology of the site will be supplemented by the addition of the breakwater as the concrete tetrapod system creates inhabitable spaces for marine life and the growth of an artificial reef. Secondary to the coastal protection is the educational storm watch center. Teaching the local community about the history of breakwaters, barrier islands, coastal erosion and sea level rise is crucial to establishing an informed public. Understanding how the sea level rise physically affects the built environment is accomplished in the educational component as visitors are able to submerge into an aquarium-like space that demonstrates the rising sea levels in relation to its current state. Intersecting the educational visitor based program with the commercial fishing program will be a small catchof-the-day stand where the fishermen can sell their catches to visitors. As a result, the commercial fishing industry is aided by additional docks and space to store and prepare their fish while also creating another point of contact with their local community members. The separate but interwoven programmatic elements work together to increase the effectiveness of the breakwater typology.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Program Analysis

59

Ecological

artificial reef

Breakwater Facility Breakdown

sand entrapment

The off-shore breakwater engages with the infrastructure of the protective breakwater by housing an educational storm watch center that is integrated with a commercial fishing dock and fish preparation facility in order to heighten community awareness of the immediacy of the coastal situation.

BREAKWATER

marine habitat

Commercial Fishing

Educational

docks

lobster aquafarm

prep. station

freezer + bait

boat maintenance

fuel

kayak storage/rental storm watch center

submerged aquarium coastal museum

Coast Guard

office watch tower sleeping quarters

Spatial Area Hierarchy recreational fishing | boating fish market | dining ecological educational

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Program Analysis 60

Programmatic Distributions

Educational

Kayak Rentals

Net 800 sq.ft

Gross 1,080 sq.ft

Bathing Platform

5000 sq.ft

6,750 sq.ft

Pier to the Beach

13,000 sq.ft

13,000 sq.ft

Equipment Storage

1,000 sq.ft

1,350 sq.ft

Fishing

Docks sleeping quarters

Net 13,000 sq.ft 500 sq.ft

Gross 13,000 sq.ft 675 sq.ft

Boat Maintenance fuel+fish repair

1000 sq.ft 500 sq.ft

1,350 sq.ft 675 sq.ft

Preparation Station

500 sq.ft

675 sq.ft

Storm Watch Center

Restaurants

kitchen seating

Net 900 sq.ft 200 sq.ft 150 sq.ft

Gross 1,215 sq.ft 270 sq.ft 200 sq.ft

Stalls

preparation area vending

500 sq.ft 200 sq.ft 300 sq.ft

675 sq.ft 270 sq.ft 400 sq.ft

Ecological

Gross TBD

Under-structure reef

Net TBD

Marine habitat

TBD

TBD

Sand Entrapment

TBD

TBD Gross 405 sq.ft

Educational

Offices

Net 300 sq.ft

Classrooms

400 sq.ft

540 sq.ft

Hands-on Demonstration Lab

500 sq.ft

675 sq.ft

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Program Analysis

61 Docks reaching out into the water directly from land

Docks attached to land with a spine that has docks attached to both sides

Double-spine dock with a grid of docks branching off of a central walkway

Radiating circular dock arrangement with boats docked in layers of the marina

diagram by author

Coastal Protection Typologies A variety of breakwater systems exist, and are employed in different ways depending on the size of the coast they are defending, use behind the structure, and desired outcome of the attenuation of waves.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Program Analysis 62

Spatial Adjacencies The program of this proposed marina is linear in form, with adjacencies between aspects of the program relating to their functions and overlapping users. While separated vertically, the ecological program is closely tied to all components of the fishing, boating, recreational and educational programs.

North-South section n.t.s

East-West section n.t.s

recreational

fishing | boating fish market | dining

ecological

educational

diagram by author

Programmatic Massing Strategy

diagram by author

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 63

Program Analysis

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Interviews 64

Brendan Stokes | Harbormaster Newbury, MA Are there specific amenities that the fishing community is lacking or in need of?

There are not many amenities at all because there isn’t really a commercial fishing industry in the area anymore. The advent of (heavy) government regulations really decimated fishermen and communities such as Gloucester and Plum Island. There are even some bumper stickers out there that claim the ‘National Marine Fisheries Services have been destroying fishermen and communities since the 1970s’. In regard to the regulations there is always a debate among fishermen where the data comes from to back up the stricter rules and regulations surrounding fishing on a commercial scale.

What is the state of the fishing industry?

Commercial fishing is in a strong downward trend due to a depletion in fish stocks and government regulations. Fishing communities are being decimated by stricter regulations limiting their catches. Over the last 40 years the recreational boating community has grown in large part because of the outboard motor (according to Mr. Stokes). As the outboards improved boats got larger, allowing for their offshore ranges to increase.

The territory of recreational boaters expanded as new boat models and types developed; becoming much more similar to commercial boaters.

Does Plum Island want to be a commercially competitive fishing community?

The short answer is No. The long answer is that a lot of factors have to be considered and it is more complicated than either yes or no.

Plum Island is not as large a fishing community as it once was, and the culture of the island has changed as well. Historically there was no distinction between recreational and commercial fishing, and fishermen never classified themselves in either category. Government regulations created the distinction through licensing, permits, and more specific boat requirements. Reasons why Plum Island doesn’t want to be a commercial fishing port include its location, safety, and the greater need for recreational access. The mouth of the Merrimack River is treacherously shallow, which creates a physical and virtual boundary to commercial fishing. The sand bar at the mouth of the river adds a risk that most fishermen are not willing to take. Gloucester (a fishing community just south of Plum Island) has a much deeper port that is safer for fishermen.

In the 1970s Newburyport was a much bigger fishing community, yet still dealt with dangerous waters and currents. Mr. Stokes recalls many fishermen almost losing their lives when coming back from fishing trips, and losing the majority of their catch as their boats were destroyed.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Interviews

65 Recreational fishing in the Plum Island region is becoming increasingly popular, though. There are many marinas and docks throughout the Merrimack River, and especially in the summer they are completely full with boats. From the viewpoint of a harbormaster, the downside of more boats is the increased risk with more boat traffic on a narrow river. There is always a demand for access to water, and the MA Fish and Game Office of Fishing and Boating Access mandated boat ramps be put in for public use.

Piers associated with the marinas usually become habitats for seaweed and small fish.

Interventions on Plum Island for Protection Dredging controlled by state regulations and the Army Corps of Engineers took many years and millions of dollars to complete. When at the town meeting, Mr. Stokes asked the Conservation Committee: “Why not dredge the delta at the mouth of the River instead?

Creating a vector that fans out of the mouth of the river has the potential to dredge more sand farther out which would provide more safety on the beach by adding many more cubic yards of sand, while also improving the navigation of the river.�

Somehow harnessing the wave energy coming onshore would be helpful because it is constant. Also, a parallel structure to the beach would provide better recreational swimming, good fishing, and homeowners may feel safer knowing that the tidal energy is lessened. The rocks placed at the Center on the island no longer have any beach in front of them because of erosion, but continued efforts are being made to bring more rocks for protection.

The bridge leading to the island was reconstructed, resulting in constricting the opening under the bridge from a previous 700 feet to 100 feet. The old bridge was on pilings that allowed the water to flow freely underneath with each tide, but the newer construction forces the water to move through a much narrower cloesd opening. As the marsh is a shock absorber, the water wants to move through it easily, but the Plum Island dike is preventing this from happening, instead contributing to worsened erosion and flooding into the Basin portion of the island.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Interviews 66

Bob Hartigan | Commercial Lobster Fisherman and Owner of Bob Lobster Restaurant, Newbury MA Are there specific amenities that the local fishing community is lacking or in need of?

Commercial fishing dock. More environmental law enforcement (catching others hauling traps, catching shorts, etc.)

In an ideal situation, what would you like to have located where you dock your boat and conduct the majority of your business?

If there were a commercial dock it would be beneficial to have access to bait, ice and fuel available.

Do you believe that integrating a public component into fishing marinas and docks would be beneficial to fishermen?

No. Does Plum Island want to be a commercially competitive fishing community?

I don’t think so.

In addition to Stellwagen Bank and Jeffrey’s Ledge, where are the most common fishing/lobstering locations that recreational and commercial fisherman frequent?

The entire shoreline in 30’ to 100’ of water (lobstering)

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Interviews

67

Dr. Christopher Hein | Coastal Geographer and Plum Island Research Group Project Leader The sediment delivery at the northern end of Plum Island is largely affected by the jetty which pushes the end tidal delta (large sandy landform that is formed from sand flowing into and out of the river during the tide). The shape of this formation is curved like a shield because of how it is hit by waves. The sea bed takes the shape of ripples as sand moves out on the stronger ebbing tide. The dominant sediment transport on Plum Island will be coming out of the mouth of the Merrimack River and heading south with the longshore current. This is due to nor’easters with winds from the northeast driving waves which push sand and sediment to the south and southwest. An anomaly to this is seen right near the jetty where the waves actually gets warped and does a loop causing the sediment transport to flow north. ‘Hot spots’ of extreme beach erosion shift over the years, and the current hot spot at Annapolis Way will soon move farther south on the island as the ebb tidal delta moves southward and fills in the sand.

Breakwaters will naturally capture sediment around the structure behind it.

Things to consider when planning breakwaters for one part of the island is how it will affect the rest of the beach farther south. Will erosion happen down there as a result of only one instance of beach protection? It may be possible to consider a system of breakwaters that would protect the whole island so as to not change the healthy beach on the Nature Preserve to the south.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Interviews 68

Stephen Frech, P.E. + Bob Acker, E.I.T. | Marine Division of M.G. McLaren Engineering Group Specifics regarding floating breakwater structures were discussed as follows:

-concrete pontoons can be spaced out with secured pilings

alternating over the length

-floating breakwaters are often constructed like a floating dock

-width is more efficent than depth at breaking waves

-lenght has to do with what the approach is and what the

breakwater is trying to protect

-floating breakwaters in the open Atlantic wouldn’t be useful as

breakwaters during large storm events; anchoring it down with

piles or rock mounds would be needed

-a stiff pile system needs to be able to withstand the force of wave

energy and is effective in depths up to 20’

Marine engineering methods and its architectural potential:

-constructing things in the water often revolve primarily around durability

-marine engineering is redundant in many cases and doesn’t

practice restraint and could stand to use more practice in

restraining the engineering through more creative design

-durable designs still need to allow for movement in joints that

absorb the energy from waves

-minimizing surface area makes it easier for maintenance

-simpler is often better

-harness and don’t resist the moving sediment

-possible to let the calmness happen behind the breakwater and let

the longshore current deposit sediment along the beach

-sediment rich nutrients travel in the first 800 feet offshore

-oysters and clams will grow on the structure, so if there is a

system of gadgets and wheels it would need to be in constant

motion in order to prevent their growth

-sediment could pass through a fine mesh and theoretically collect

in a basin and then be released

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Interview Reflection

69

Reflections on Interviewees’ Responses The most striking difference between the interviews with Brendan Stokes and Bob Hartigan was the opinion about a recreational component on the waterfront. While both men are actively engaged in the boating and fishing community, the reaction to including more people on the water was opposed by the active fisherman but welcomed by the harbormaster. These contrasting sentiments confirmed my prior belief that an architectural intervention off the shore of any coastal community would be met with support and discontent. As the fishing industry is currently restricted by government regulations, it is not a surprise to find that an active commercial fisherman would not support a project which aims to introduce more boaters (and potential recreational fishers) to the area. However, listening to the words of Brendan Stokes, it is clear that there is a great need for more access to the water for these recreational users. Mitigating the needs of all users of the beachfront and water on coastal islands is a complicated task that will inevitably not appease all stakeholders. While acknowledging that the proposed thesis will be met with some resistance from particular parties, it is also necessary to think about how architecture has the potential to change opinions through its successful implementation. I aim to take the fishermen’s concerns of introducing more users to the already precarious site along with the clear need for recreational water access into consideration when designing a multifunctional protective coastal infrastructure.

Learning more about the geology surrounding Plum Island and marine engineering methods for accomplishing breakwater systems is useful in making design decisions. The confirmation of a breakwater protecting the shoreline immediately behind it is helpful in setting up a new architectural typology for breakwaters. Architecture has not been involved in offshore coastal protection until recently in the Rebuild by Design efforts, and there is potential to engage people with nature through buildings. Catalyzing the local culture and ecosystem by harvesting sediment and creating calmer intertidal zones is something that can be adopted in other coastal communities and would validate the large financial expense if it was able to be an economic generator.

69

70

71

SITE ANALYSIS

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis 72

Massachusetts Barrier Islands Healey, Jane A. Regulating Residential Development on Massachusetts Barrier Islands: Inadequacies, Opportunities, and the Case of Plum Island.

Massachusetts’ coastline is constituted by 192 miles of barrier islands.

Site must be along the coast

Locations of Site Intervention Healey, Jane A. Regulating Residential Development on Massachusetts Barrier Islands: Inadequacies, Opportunities, and the Case of Plum Island.

Plum Island (top), Scituate (middle), and Provincetown (bottom) are all heavily developed barrier islands experiencing the effects of coastal erosion and sea level rise in their communities.

Site must be located along a barrier island

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis

73 Boat Travel Densities and Fishing Grounds MarineTraffic.com Vessel Traffic and Locations with fishing grounds and boat density diagram by author

The densities of boats along the coast of MA are closely tied to the location of fishing grounds and indicate the distances that both recreational and commercial boaters and fishermen travel.

Site should currently or historically have strong ties to marine economies and water culture

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis 74

Cape Ann, MA | Plum Island Google. Google Earth. Map. S.l.: Google, 2004. overlay by author

Located about 40 miles north of Boston, Plum Island is situated in the Cape Ann region of the North Shore.

Plum Island | Greater Newburyport with Marinas and Mooring Fields Google. Google Earth. Map. S.l.: Google, 2004. overlay by author

Situated along the Atlantic Coast, Plum Island is an integral part of the Greater Newburyport area (Newburyport, Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury, Georgetown and Groveland). The coastal communities are heavily influenced by the ocean and rivers. Marinas are located heavily along the Merrimack River (north of map) as well as the Rowley and Parker Rivers with mooring fields out in the water due to the lack of space at docks.

Site should be near existing boat navigation routes Enlarged Plum Island Map with Roadways Google. Google Earth. Map. S.l.: Google, 2004. overlay by author

The Northern end of Plum Island is heavily developed with residential homes, some restaurants, and a hotel. Its vicinity to the mouth of the Merrimack River is connected to the island’s water and fishing culture.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis

75 Geographic Site Composition Hein, Christopher J., Duncan M. Fitzgerald, Emily A. Carruthers, Byron D. Stone, Walter A. Barnhardt, and Allen M. Gontz. “Refining the Model of Barrier Island Formation along a Paraglacial Coast in the Gulf of Maine.” Elseveir, 2012, 40+.

marsh

mainland + supratidal barrier islands

intertidal sand flats

barrier beach

drumlin deposit

anthropogenic freshwater marsh

Plum Island is a unique site in that its geographic composition ranges from barrier beach to sand flats, freshwater marsh, saltwater marsh and drumlins. It is valuable to notice the northern developed part of the island is not defined as mainland, but as intertidal sand flats, salt marsh, and barrier beach.

Area of Critical Environmental Concern [ACEC] Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Office.

Parker River/Essex Bay ACEC. Massachusetts Coastal Zone Mangagement. Accessed October 27, 2014. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/ habitat/preb/preb-brochure.pdf.

Areas of Critical Environmental Concern are protected under the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Managaement because of their significant natural and cultural resources. The ACEC resources add ecological, economic, and recreational value to coastal communities with extensive beaches, rivers, streams, salt marshes and marine life.

ACEC

razor clam

American oyster

soft shell clam

scallop

surf clam

blue mussel

European oyster

Shellfish Suitability Areas ArcGIS, comp. “Shellfish Suitability Areas.” Map. Accessed October 17, 2014. ArcGIS.

Shellfish flourish off the coast of Plum Island as well as in the salt marsh system between the mainland and the island itself.

Shellfish are abundant here, but their sensitivity to the health of the salt marsh places them in danger of survival due to consequences from island development and exacerbated coastal erosion and flooding infiltrating in the back marsh.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis 76

Proposed Sand Resource Areas ArcGIS, comp. “Preliminary and Provisional Sand Resource Area Siting.� Map. Accessed October 17, 2014. ArcGIS.

The state of Massachusetts has identified sites for potential sand resources along the coast suitable for beach nourishment.

Of the entire coastline, one of the most largest sites of resources is located off of Plum Island’s shore. Within the next 5 years there are plans in the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan to take advantage of these resources that resulted from glacial deposits. Capturing sand and sediment for beach nourishment is a tactic utilized by the government, and would be supported by residents as a necessary measure to protect their homes.

provisional sand resource area

preliminary sand resource area

preliminary sand resource area in federal water

Existing Program on Plum Island diagram by author

Plum Island and Newburyport is characterized by residential, commercial, educational, and restaurant programs. The mainland is significantly more varied in its programmatic distribution, whereas Plum Island is dominated by residential housing.

Recreational and commercial amenities can spread over to the island to bolster the residential heavy community, and supply the demand of increased visitors during the summer months.

residential

commercial

restaurant

educational

hotel

Site must be developed with housing or commercial properties Population Density Google. Google Earth. Map. S.l.: Google, 2004. overlay by author

The population in the Newburyport/Plum Island region is heavily concentrated along the coast and river. Much of the land to the west of the barrier island is under the protection of the Parker River National Refuge, and will not undergo any future development. The northern end, however is incredibly built up with year-round residents and renters during the summer months.

most densely populated

moderately populated

semi-populated

least densely populated

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis

77 Shoreline Change on Plum Island 1844-2009 MassGIS, comp. Massachusetts Shoreline Change Browser. Map. 2014. Accessed October 30, 2014. http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/ map_ol/czm_shorelines.php.

The natural process of coastal erosion is clearly seen in the overlaying of Plum Island’s shorelines throughout the years. Sand repositions itself during the tidal processes and coastal storms can cause more significant movement of the shoreline. Today’s shoreline is significantly different than the shoreline 100 years ago, and the future shoreline will be new as natural processes alter the geography of the barrier island.

Site should be suffering from coastal erosion and rising sea levels which are threatening existing development

1844-1897

1909-1938

1943-1969

1970-1982

1994

2000

2001

2007-2009

Flood Protection Structures diagram by author

jetty

dredging

groins

sand bags

Protective measures to aid against flooding have been made both on the island and in the water. All of the measures taken have presented problems for the natural sand and tidal movement and increased erosion as well as being financial burdens.

A channel dredged aids navigation and replenish the sand while hard jetties, extending out into the Atlantic, and rock groins aim to control sand movement.

Individual homeowners have used sand bags as a last effort of protection.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis 78

Monthly Fishing Calendar By Species Fishing is a season-dominated profession and the winter months are largely unproductive fishing months for fishermen.

This disjointed shift in productivity leads to the need for fishermen to find another source of income for the rest of the year.

Oftentimes this is difficult, and fishermen in smaller communities suffer financially durring the off-season.

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC cod black sea bass bluefin tuna bluefish bonito cusk false albacore haddock mackerel pollock scup smelts striped bass summer flounder tautog winter flounder

best

good

poor

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis

79 Vegetation Distribution Google. Google Earth. Map. S.l.: Google, 2004. overlay by author

Vegetation on Plum Island is suited to survive in harsh weather, changing salinity levels, and often very dry conditions.

Beach plums, goldenrod, Dusty Miller, beach grass, bayberries, beach pea, sea rocket, and rosa rugosa are all distributed on Plum Island’s barrier island and marsh.

Wildlife Distribution Google. Google Earth. Map. S.l.: Google, 2004. overlay by author

Predators, prey, and scavengers inhabit the barrier island. Largely dependent on the ecology and make up of the salt marsh, these animals are directly affected by the negative impacts of human interventions against coastal erosion and flooding on the island.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis 80

Land to Water Change

1989-1992

NOAA. “Land Water.” Compiled by ArcGIS. Accessed October 27, 2014. http:// www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer. html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimagery.arcgisonline. com%2Farcgis%2Frest%2Fservices%2FLandsatG LS%2FLandWater%2FImageServer&source=sd.

Paired with the tidal changes and sand accumulation is the change in ratio of land to water. Dry land has remained consistent in its location inland of the barrier island, while the wet land boundary has changed over the years. Most recently this zone of wet land/water has shown that the developed portion of Plum Island is more inundated with water than it was 20 years ago, yet continues to be developed for residences.

dry land

1989-1992

1998-2001

Land to Water Change on Plum Island 2004-2007 driest land ‘89-92 wet zone boundary

Land to Water Change on Plum Island wetter land

dry land

1989-1992

driest land

1998-2001 wetter land

1998-2001

‘89-92 wet zone boundary ‘89-92 wet zone boundary underlay ‘98-01 wet zone boundary ‘98-01 wet zone boundary underlay ‘04-07 wet zone boundary

‘89-92 wet zone boundary underlay ‘98-01 wet zone boundary ‘98-01 wet zone boundary underlay ‘04-07 wet zone boundary

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis

81 Sand Migration and Tidal Change Google. Google Earth. Map. S.l.: Google, 2004. overlay by author

Sand migration and tidal change are dependent factors simultaneously changing the form of barrier islands. As seen on Plum Island in the span of three years, large deposits of sand accumulated off of the beach as well as in the mouth of the river. These changes affect coastal living as well as the safety of navigating the mouth of the river.

low tide high tide

low tide high tide

2007 low tide

accumulation 2003 high tide

previous sand

2010 low tide low tide high tide

flooding interventions 2007 low tide

low tide high tide

2010 low tide

ch and dune formations have occurred gradually over time, but in the past decade major of these changes.tide Atline low tide it is most obvious to see how the dunes andinterventions sand accumulation previous sand have shifted flooding uarine system. Compared to the tide when it is high, it is clear that the sand is also being The changes in Plum Island’s beach and dune formations have occurred gradually over time, but in the past decade major f the Merrimack River; creating problems for boaters attempting to enter and exit the River.

storms have increased the clarity of these changes. At low tide it is most obvious to see how the dunes have shifted and spread into the salt marsh and estuarine system. Compared to the tide when it is high, it is clear that the sand is also being heavily deposited into the mouth of the Merrimack River; creating problems for boaters attempting to enter and exit the River.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis 82

Site Plan The proposed off-shore marina will be located one-quarter mile off of the shore of the northern end of Plum Island. This site is intrinsically tied to the boating routes of commercial and recreational boaters, the mouth of the Merrimack River, and the beach community.

1000’ 0’

Site Plan Enlarged The vicinity of the marina intervention to the beach and jetty as well as boating routes allows for direct public connection as well as a commercial component. A protected intertidal harbor will be created by the marina as it forms a buffer from wave energy. The short distance offshore allows for visual connectivity as well as relative ease of access for beachgoers.

45’

45’

78’

30’ 18’

9’ 15’ 9’

30’ 51’ 30’ 12’

24’

0’

1000’ 500’

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis

83 Site Condition Photograph by Cheryl Loughlin

Looking east from the beach located near the jetty at the northern end of Plum Island, the mouth of the Merrimack River is seen to the left, dune depletion is apparent, and there is an uninterrupted view of the Atlantic.

Photograph by Cheryl Loughlin

Facing north the narrow Merrimack River is seen. The Salisbury State Reservation is visible on the other side of the river, and many boats navigate through this channel as they head from the river out to the ocean.

Photograph by Cheryl Loughlin

Residential development is seen when looking west from the beach located at the jetty. Dune trampling has damaged the sand dunes and contributed to increased dune migration. The set back of these homes is atypical compared to the rest of the island, where homes abut directly up to the edge of the sand dunes.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis 84

Massing Typologies Single Bar

A massing for the site that runs parallel to the beach with a long pier connecting to the shoreline allows for sand accumulation, calmer intertidal swimming, and public access to the structure.

Separated Bar

Expanding upon the single bar, multiple structures can be connected via walkways.

The programmatic elements are able to disconnect and reconfigure depending on the level of overlapping user groups.

Additional piers allow for easier access from the beach.

Double Loaded Bar

Creating even more protected waters with a double loaded marina typology benefits swimmers and bathers. Additional program can aggregate if the demand increases over time, or depending on which coastal community the structure is protecting.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves

Site Analysis

85 Radial

Approaching the marina typology as an opportunity to develop a newer coastal protective form, a radial structure emerges. Still connected to the shoreline via a pier, the radial shape forms layered zones where various fishing, boating, swimming, and educational activities could occur.

Bar and Breakwater Walkway

Connecting the linear marina to a breakwater with an elevated walkway provides additional views of the ocean and marine life. The breakwater would significantly slow tidal energy and make a very calm intertidal zone for beachgoers.

Marine life would naturally form on the breakwater structure, improving the ecology of the area.

Bar Series with Breakwaters Multiple levels of programmatic elements supplies occupants the opportunity to see the island from a unique angle. Covered spaces will result from raised spaces, and potentially allow for some parts of the open breakwater pathway to be occupied during multiple seasons. The tidal energy is lessened yet again by the sturdier breakwater, and the linear form of the marina itself.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 86

Plum Island Site Section 1�:125’ by author

mean sea level salt marsh

inter-dune

primary dune

beach

intertidal zone

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 87

offshore zone

88

89

DESIGN

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 90

Ocean to Tower Perspective

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 91

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 92

Commercial Fishing Perspective

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 93

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 94

Underwater Perspective

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 95

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 96

Final presentation board and set up.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 97 Grouping of tetrapod configurations. 3d printed.

First iteration of tetrapod massing study.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 98 3d printed tetrapod study models investigating the spaces created when groups are aggregated together.

1/32”:1’0” scale model of tower intervention into tetrapod breakwater system.

1/32”:1’0” scale model of tower intervention into tetrapod breakwater system. Side view.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 99 1/16”:1’-0” scale massing model of storm watch center proposal. Wood, mdf, acrylic, and 3d printed materials were used.

1/16”:1’-0” scale massing model of storm watch center proposal. Section view showing relationship underwater.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 100

Final Review Feedback Review Teams: Ammar Eloueini, Rodolphe El Khoury, Ada Tolla, Sherry Hoffman, Bruce Goodwin, Nick Jennish Cordula Roser-Gray, Tim Stenson, Liam O’Brian, Jr., Marianne Desmarais, Julie Babin -Graphic representation of infrastructure as having life and architectural qualities to it is good in that infrastructure is often depicted as being lifeless and dry -overall production is great and helps show different areas of study -Monumentalize the tetrapod through a new iconic architecture -Positive sign is that the critics could see this being a future project along coastlines -How do I envision this new breakwater infrastructure changing the way we see the coastline and am I creating a new coastline?

-How do the breakwaters start to inform the designing and programing of a new coastline?

Can there be a set of combinations of the tetrapods that then appear in different locations depending on what they are serving?

-Very relevant area to study with the work happening since Hurricane Sandy and the project touched upon a lot of critical areas of concern and discussion- ranging from the people that are directly affected to the impacts on the ecosystems and environments -Could be a more playful architecture if it isn’t thought about as flat planes (like an architect) and then the slopes and inclines start to create new spaces and functions that still serve the program placed in it -What happens when the tower is not strictly vertical, but emerges precariously like the tetrapods themselves? This would be a stronger proposal for a contemporary breakwater typology because it responds directly to the context of the tetrapod. Iconic lighthouses in the context can be reinvented in this proposal -If the project was to be realized, it is important to acknowledge that a lot of different contributors would be involved. Engineers, environmental specialists, architects, urban planners, government agencies, etc.

-Take what was learned from studying a geometric form such as the tetrapod and use it to push my ideas of what surfaces can be inhabited, etc.

Colleen Loughlin | Roser-Gray Resisting the Waves 101