The Albany Bulb is a former construction debris landfill in the San Francisco Bay Area. My design was inspired by the verb “to fray” that I chose after experiencing the loose rocks and erosion at the site.
To start the design process, I created conceptual models to map the conditions I was interested in on the site. Of the models shown above, the first maps the density of the ground, showing where the ground is tightly packed, where it is eroding or loose, and where it flows into the ocean. The second maps the permeability of the ground, showing where plant life has managed to make its way through the rubble. The third maps the wind on the site, giving a sense of both its strength and direction. The negative space I discovered through tracing the density model provided the shapes for the stepping stones in my design and the wind model inspired the shapes for the canyons. The fraying in the density model and the idea of the ground being woven drawn from the permeability model helped me develop the idea of a “frayed landscape.”
Applying the verb “to fray” drawn from my models to Albany Bulb, I created radical projections and radical sections of my site showing what “fraying” could do to the land in 50, then 100 years. The radical sections then inspired me to create canyons to represent my frayed landscape.
My final design creates canyons about 30 feet deep cutting back into the hillside where, at low tide, people can sit and relax, escape the wind, or climb and play.
Stepping stones on the beach are partially submerged at high tide but create space for play when they are above water.
At high tide, the canyons fill with about six feet of water. They become inaccessible from the beach but can still be enjoyed from above.
