Fabric of the Path: Viewing a Nova Scotia Landscape Through a Long-Distance Trail Network

Abstract

This thesis investigates the role architecture can play in structuring a shelter-to-shelter kayaking route in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. Without the confines and linearity of a terrestrial course, the trail-less waterway invites the user to meander and define a unique and personal experience. With almost limitless physical trajectories over the site, the route is mediated through nodes of importance. It is through the recognition and design of these nodes that the structure of the waterway is defined and interpreted. By turning the attention of visitors towards the surrounding landscape, both built and natural, the trail infrastructure invites one to pause, reflect and inhabit. The traveller bears witness to the particulars of the route through the spatial, material and ambient fabric of the path.