Group Project Limits Unbound: Reconnecting a City with Its Delta

  • Lea Stagno, M.Arch.II 2015
    Alfred To, M.Arch.II 2015
  • Class

    ARCH 5116/8913 Option Studio (spring 2015)
  • Instructor

    Tao DuFour

The city of Porto Alegre is susceptible to floods. A 3m-tall wall was built after a major flood in 1941, creating a physical and visual isolation from the delta in the city. The edge then became occupied by warehouses and shipping docks, making it inaccessible by the public. As the city transitioned into a service economy, the edge has lost its former functionality.

Our project was to reactivate the edge, to allow the waterfront to engage public life.

The project begins by extending the former industrial edge into the river and transforming the barrier into a landscape to allow people to enter and experience the delta. As construction continues, the adjacent neighborhoods become increasingly connected to the park, reunifying the city and the delta. To further engage people through recreations, it is critical that the water is safe for human contact. An artificial wetland is created along the canal, which cleans the water through natural processes.

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