Urban Resilience: Re-Designing Existing Architecture for the Community of Maynard Lake

Abstract

This thesis proposes the renovation of existing rental units in ten low-rise apartment buildings in order to foster urban and ecological resilience. Existing ex-military apartments on the north shore of Maynard Lake in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada are adapted through strategic additions and subtractions to create a gradient of spaces: from private to communal to public. The site is conceived as an urban threshold to the lake, organized around new communal amenity spaces for the inhabitants and new diverse mixed-use spaces for the public. At the heart of the project lies the design strategy of effecting big change in the quality of existing space through small interventions. Relatively low-cost incremental design moves transform bleak and alienating spaces into livable places where renters will benefit from the support of their community.