A META-GREEN A Dynamic Architecture Along the Banks of the Saint John River

Abstract

Through the catalytic theory of cybernetics, this thesis proposes a local intervention within the vast network of synthetic and organic systems that span the watershed of the Saint John River Valley in New Brunswick, Canada. Cybernetics is described as a way to understand a constantly changing world, where networks of synthetic and organic systems interact spatially and temporally to produce emergence and consequence. Systems thinking and architecture inspired by cybernetics can respond to the uncertainty of climate change and the challenges it poses to urban areas in relation to watersheds. Using Fredericton and the watershed to test a future climate scenario with increased precipitation and as a result significant increases in freshet flooding. The project proposes an infrastructure/architecture that accommodates the feedback of this changing landscape, limiting future flooding through the investigation of dynamic space and an augmented topography along ‘The Green’, a riverside park in Fredericton.