Like architecture, water becomes a reservoir of memory. It has been constantly recycled ever since the dawn of time, and--as human intervention would have it—is full of historical relics. This project sought to explore how water interacts with overhead conditions, acting as a metaphor for memory and continuity.

The water, however, also poses a danger to the structural integrity of the proposed site.  St. John’s river has been irreversibly modified to make it more functional for the Port of Jacksonville. However, this poses serious risks to the bulkheads as in altering the river’s natural flow, the sandbar previously protecting them has been washed away, the surface of the river now flat and sterile. To prevent further damage, in this model I explored the utilization of I-beams already on site to act as an artificial sandbar and allow for the build up of sediments. This isn’t unprecedented as I-beams have been used to grow reefs, sustaining against ocean currents.

On site, there is an agglomerate of old boat parts that have been reinvented into a terrestrial home. The site is full of instances like this, where old materials have been reimagined as something new. This method of construction greatly influenced this project as it took on a modular system, superimposing sections of the overall structure into an existing ground plane.