MEDIATING BETWEEN LAND AND SEA: PUBLIC SWIMMING POOLS AS A RESERVATION OF THE URBAN WATERFRONT

Abstract

This thesis primarily explores the materiality of water by focusing on its containment and experiential qualities. By identifying the urban waterfront as a porous medium belong- ing to both the city and the sea, the design attempts to medi- ate the built and natural environments and utilize the water- front for public inhabitation. The decentralization of heavy industry has created a void in the Halifax waterfront. Now mostly occupied by parking lots, this vacant land has lead to a physical dis- tancing of the city from the water. A recent increase in the privatization of the public waterfront through high income condominium development could further exaggerate this disconnection. This thesis aims to reserve public access to the water by reclaiming the shoreline and examine the rela- tionship between the city and its waterfront and to seek ways to redefine the water as an accessible civic amenity.