Sited along the edge of the decommissioned Edgemere Landfill in Jamaica Bay, Queens, the project proposes a 300-by-4,700-foot field of pixelated rubble structures, meant to be built gradually as debris is produced over time. The peak of Edgemere Landfill is currently 71 feet above sea level and is one of the only sites in the area not in a floodprone zone. However, with Mean Spring Tide projected to be 4 feet above the current datum by 2025 and 8.3 feet by 2100, the edges of the site require retaining. These porous structures would reinforce this edge while allowing for tides to move through the structures. Situated among a long open-air hypostyle hall are outdoor theaters and barbecues, indoor rooms for classes and workshops, tool sheds, gardens, and a waterfront promenade. In short, the project looks at the environmental context of debris to find creative uses that blur the line between building and landscape, and mass and void. The project turns the act of dumping into the construction habitable spaces and reclaims an abandoned waterfront for collective activities in a vulnerable coastline community.

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