Infrastructure for Ephemeral Expenditure at Land's End

Abstract

This thesis takes place in the overlap between ecology and architecture. It is an experiment in modifying the tools of architecture (drawing, spatializing, visualizing) with ecological methods and content in order to increase the capacity of built design for evoking the distinctive character of place, in this case, Land's End in San Francisco, California. Land's End is a park that acts as a border between the city and the ocean, and has historically hosted a strange mix of human activities that resonate with the dark, changeable, and ebullient natural forces much in evidence in this locality. Instead of attempting to tame, preserve or even enhance these shifting, unpredictable human and natural activities, a dually-natured infrastructure is proposed. This infrastructure would not only help provide basic services and support for the restless, shifting, memorable events that take place on this unique site, but more importantly, begin to shift their legibility from acts of negligence, short sightedness or abandonment to acts of sacrificial return.