Ann
O'Hara Wilkiemeyer (Hara)
Various
civic and ecological infrastructures convene at the Fens. Currently
the relationships between these systems are unclear. This design proposes
to reconfigure existing relationships and to create new interactions
in order to reveal and re-examine conjunctions both at the level of
the microcosm and within the greater urban area of Boston. An examination
of the urban water system revealed that Boston is spending a tremendous
amount of money to import fresh drinking water to the city. Part of
this annual import is spent on water used to extinguish fires.
This design reconfigures the storm water runoff system of the Stoney
Creek watershed in order to clean stormwater before it enters the
muddy river and to create a new fire water system that could be used
to extinguish fires within this watershed. An arcing, open channel
allows water to be cleansed by plants and aeration as it moves through
the landscape. The decommisioned gatehouse is converted to a pumping
station for this new system. Stormwater outlets into the fens are
configured into occupiable places connected by a path. Fire hydrants
throughout the watershed are reconstructed within storm water gardens
that reveal the cyclic nature of this system.
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