Date of Award

Spring 6-2-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master in Interior Architecture [Adaptive Reuse]

Department

Interior Architecture

First Advisor

Markus Berger

Second Advisor

Stefano Corbo

Third Advisor

Jongwan Kwon

Abstract

Climate change is real. Given the rising number of natural disasters affecting communities across the globe, this is a universal concern for all. From warming oceans to the decreasing of ice sheets and global sea level rise, we have problems. In the wake of increasingly frequent natural disasters, a community’s identity is abruptly interrupted repeatedly – an identity built upon history and traditions created over time, pulled apart over and over. When dealing with damaged communities post-disruption, another identity must emerge, shaped to incorporate the need for future resilience, while acknowledging the presence of the affected area’s past.

South Florida is very familiar with the impact of natural disasters. Hurricane Andrew of 1992 remains one of the worst and is referenced as the greatest possible catastrophic impact a single storm could have on a community and its infrastructure. The Miami Marine Stadium survived Andrew and continues to stand strong. The site has evolved identitiy over time – from boat-racing, to a concert-filled stadium, into abandonment by the city after Andrew, to adoption by underground culture as a “graffiti haven” – but it is now deteriorating significantly and in need of a new identity in order to survive. Due to the continuity of hurricanes and subsequent flooding, along with the high projected sea level rise for the area, Miami’s beach culture identity is also at risk.

The proposed intervention for the stadium’s new identity therefore brings to light a design for the present and future – both a reactivation for the stadium’s past life and an opportunity for Miami’s beach culture to outlast sea level rise. Redesign of Miami Marine Stadium will question the typical layout and social structure of the beaches of today. It will anticipate the identity of future beaches for Miami by acting as the curator in directing the relationships between the existing structure and its natural environment.

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