The fall 2015 Buoyant Ecologies Integrated Building Design studio will explore architectural opportunities at the edge: where the city meets the San Francisco Bay. As cities across the globe attempt to adapt to the uncertain implications of climate change, there is little doubt that rising ocean levels will have a tremendous impact on coastal cities worldwide, including those that line the San Francisco Bay. This studio begins with the premise that cities must actively develop new approaches to their constructed waterfronts, and that architects can play a significant role in designing new alternatives to the status quo.

The studio’s site is Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland, a recreational oasis nestled within the expansive Port of Oakland and with spectacular views of San Francisco and the Bay. This site holds great historical significance as both the former terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Oakland Naval Supply Center. In teams of two, students will design a marine research and public education center that will incorporate a floating laboratory component off the shoreline. Students will be encouraged to explore the section from land to water—from stationary to buoyant—as a primary means for design investigation.  

This focus on the edge, and specifically on the floating laboratory component, will be the locus for material research into ecologically-optimized substrates that are conducive to marine life. Building upon research initiated in the fall 2014 Buoyant Ecologies studio, students will collaborate with fabricators at Kreysler & Associates and marine biologists at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories / Benthic Lab to develop compelling prototypes of contoured fiber-reinforced polymer substrates that perform in highly calibrated ways to create habitats for aquatic species. Furthermore, the studio will seek to leverage this performance-driven approach to produce equally innovative and provocative architectural proposals for this Oakland waterfront site. 

In addition to close collaboration with Benthic Lab and Kreysler & Associates, the studio will also interface with the Port of Oakland, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, green roof innovators at Rana Creek, consultants from the Public Utilities Commission, and community representatives from the city of Oakland. 

Link: Buoyant Ecologies research page / CCA Digital Craft Lab