Harnessing Dynamics: Exploring Scale & Coastal Infrastructure in the Arctic

Abstract

Infrastructure is crucial for survival in extreme environments. However, it is often built with little consideration for its environmental context or the broader needs of the community it serves. In the Arctic, small coastal communities are experiencing accelerating land erosion as a result of climate change. These communities have tight-knit cultures and are surrounded by dominating nature, sublime landscapes, and unpredictable weather. Introducing the coastal barriers necessary to protect these towns must be done with full consideration of the multiple scales at which the infrastructure will operate.

Standard infrastructure neutralizes natural dynamics and separates people from the environment. From large-scale forces such as land erosion to harnessing local atmospheric dynamics such as waves, wind, and fog, architecture must mediate between infrastructure, the natural environment, and the local community to create tangible experiences and meet the community’s societal needs. Through the design of a coastal barrier system, this thesis proposes a framework for implementing critical infrastructure that becomes an extension of its surroundings and harnesses natural dynamics to facilitate experiential opportunities.