Neil Ryan Young

ATLANTIS SINKING

A NEW ARCHITECTURE TO ADDRESS THE REALITY OF RISING OCEANS

The Chesapeake Bay and its Watershed covers over 64,000 Square Miles and Holds over 150 Major Rivers and Streams. It is home to more than 18 Million people surrounding 9 major cities in 6 States.

Tangier Island has a rich history beginning before the founding of the United States. Many of its inhabitants are decendent of the original familes that have occupied this tiny island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay for centuries.

by global warming within the contintental United States and therefore is something of a canary in a coal mine for global sea level rise.

The island could be the first popluation to be displaced

If Tangier were to be lost to the water, with it will go the living history of the men and woman who have persisted on this island for generations.

present day

2’ rise in ocean levels

It is for this reason that I chose to memorialize this place, its history and people, and design a research facility tasked with regenerating and restoring the habitat of the Chesapeake Bay that will be lost as the waters rise.

4’ rise in ocean levels

Innundation maps by NOAA indicate that the Chesapeake bay water level could rise by 3’ or more by the end of the 21st century placing most of Tangier island under water.

EARLY CONCEPT SKETCHES

PORT ISOBEL ISLAND (THE POINT) Highest elevation: 6’ above sea level

VILLAGE OF TANGIER Highest elevation: 3’ above sea level

AERIEAL VIEW OF TANGIER ISLAND

The Boardwalk and Overlook are the first thing that visitors interact with, and act as a unifying architecture on the island.

Boardwalk structure (above)

The boardwalk extends over the shallow water at the edge of Port Isobel Island, to the dock that parallels the boating channel.

Throughout the island, the boardwalk screening has been lifted to expose the site’s natural beauty and provide a reference to the memorial and research space.

Overlook structure (above)

The overlook structure reminds visitors of the wildlife that call this island home, as well as providing visitors with the best vantage point to view Tangier.

The memorial space is a marker of time. In this time, it sits above the wataer, in future times it may rest below an ocean. And still, in the more distant future, it may find itself on a tundra.

For now, it will hold the culture and history of this place, but for future generations, it will become a marker of a place, of a society that failed to act in order to reverse anthropogenic climate change.

LOWER LEVEL MEMORIAL:

The lower level of the memorial represents the past, It is doomed to be inundated and will serve as a lasting reminder in our time, of the culture and place known as Tangier that has been lost to rising water.

UPPER LEVEL MEMORIAL:

MEMORIAL ROOF / LANDSCAPE PLAN:

The upper level of the memorial space is dedicated to the future and humanities efforts to combat climate change and restore habitat. It will showcase the regenerative strategies that will be developed as part of the work of the islands research facility.

The roof of the memorial will display the natural grasses and fauna of the island, until it is inundated.

The pathways and landscape are inspired by nautical maps of the Chesapeake Bay that were created in the early 19th century.

SPATIAL QUALITY: The lower level Memorial space will evoke a sensation of being below water, reminding visitors of the future inundation of Tangier Island.

To capture this sensation, the ceiling plane in the lower level gallery includes a suspended perforated panel system, inspired by refracted light patterns in bodies of water.

The lower level gallery (this page) represents the past. It is dark and intentionally oppressive.

Visitors wil feel the burden that climate change will cause future generations.

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN: The lower level memorial design will evoke a response to the destructive practices that human habitation has had on the Bay through the use of larger than life imagery.

The upper gallery will be a contrast to the lower. This space will be light, airy, and filled with exhibits that represent hope for the future.

ABOVE: Design concept for the research center with modular buildings and steel structure to support a single roof structure.

ABOVE: Innitial design for the research center inspired by the organic forms of Oyster Shells.

BELOW: Concept for the research center with radial concrete walls. The roof form was designed to maximize solar PV collection.

ROOF FORM: The roof form follows the plan, but continues over the 3 portions removed for access to the central courtard. This was done to achieve a unified buildint from 3 parts.

FINAL MASS ROOF UNDULATION: The undulating roof is inspired by the grooves of a clamshel. They help to channel water into specific area for collection by large above ground cisterns.

FLOOR PLAN: The floor plan was created by manipulating an outer and inner circular form to create a shallow side of 60’ and wide side of 80’.

These are the smallest and largest program requirement.

The floor plate was then divided by increments of 10 degrees.

PROGRAM: The building program provides space for fabrication (RED) on the north side of the building. 2 wings of research/ offfice/support spaces (Yellow) are located below residential spaces.

The residential floors (GREEN) are stacked 4 high.

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES:

SOLAR ROOF ARRAY: Energy will be used to power research center and will be converted for use in residential unites in future.

RAIN WATER HARVESTING: Rainwater will be harvested and filtered to levels safe for drinking.

LIVING MACHINE: A constructed wetland will be used to filter effluent from the residential units before discharged into the surrounding bay.

BIRDSEYE VIEW OF RESEARCH FACILITY (ABOVE) PARTIAL WEST ELEVATION OF RESEARCH FACILITY (RIGHT)

HABITAT: The interior courtyard will contain a veriety of habitat types (Forrest, Meadow, Wetland) for island wildlife that will be losing land as the bay rises.

GEOTHERMAL EXCHANGE: The high water table is an optimal source for geothermal exchange and will be utilised for cooling and heating.

SALVATION: The building will slowly be converted to residential units as the rising waters force the residents of Tangier off of their island.

BIOPHILIC DESIGN INSPIRATION: The design concept for the research facility is based on a veriety of local marine animals Shown below, the atlantic striped bass.

SALVATION: The research center was designed to develop a new economy on Tangier. One focussed on the regeneration and restoration of the bay ecosystem that is influenced by circular economic principles.

In this new economy, the research center wil be at the forefront of newly developed methods of converting waste (aalgal blooms, plastic, etc.) into valuable resources.

FUTURE: With the island of Tangier sinking, the research center, built upon raised land supported by a 12’ bulkhead will provide a future home to inhabitatnts of Tangier as their homes sink into the Chesapeake.

The new home will provide a protective shelfter from the bay while prserving habitat for local wildlife.

In order to directly address the needs for the watermen of tangier, A series of dwelling structures were designed that borrow inspiration from both lighthouses of the Chesapeake Bay and the Maunsell Forts of England.

RUGGED BEAUTY: The dwelling units are designed to float gracefully above the water, but have a ruggendness that will hold up to the harsh weather of the Chesapeake Bay.

MARINE INSPIRATION: The watermen of tangier make their living on the water. These structures will give them easy access to the bay as the waters begin to rise. They are designed to withstand a 14� storm surge as well as future oceal levels.

ATLANTIS SINKING: A New Architecture to Address the Reality of Rising Oceans.

Neil Ryan Young: 2020 Thesis Advisor: Don Jones Drexel University: Department of Architecture