independent thesis research project
cornell university | fall 2023|4 months
advisors: anna dietzsch + caitlin blanchfield
cornell university | fall 2023|4 months
advisors: anna dietzsch + caitlin blanchfield
In the Chesapeake Bay, the future fate of many coastlines is a reality now. As saltwater rises and the earth sinks, forests turn to marsh, and marsh is lost to open water.
This thesis asserts that environmental health rests within both private and public interest. Envisioning a new collective model of land ownership along a creek, agricultural land is redistributed to respond to environmental pressures, and a natural infrastructure of interconnected wetlands permeates across parcel boundaries. The intertwining of marsh and diverse agricultural land mitigates fertilizer runoff, promotes soil renewal, and improves community food access.
The intervention site serves as an educational model for the replication of the new farmscape, and also allows visitors to witness the regenerative processes within the changing landscape through experiential and recreational spaces. Visitors are invited to the site to learn about new farming practices and visit the market. The land is a porous gradient of water, from marsh to agriculture, that supports community access to water in an area where the shoreline is heavily privately-owned.
The farm area contains a central building for visitors and workers, whereas the structures closer to the water curate an experience for the visitor to render visible the possibilities that a collective approach to land use and environmental responsibility affords.
