INDETERMINACY

Location: Boston, MA
Program: Waterfront Plaza
Category: Academic, Fall 2013, Harvard GSD Instructors: Zaneta Hong, Jane Hutton, Gary Hilderbrand

The South Boston Waterfront has a rich history of industry, shipping, and water related activities, active until the mid-20th century. Most of the land was gained by fill on the water and remains for parking. Yet, today, the South Boston Waterfront is disconnected from the water except in certain precise places. From the Oslo Opera House precedent, the South Boston Waterfront project pulls the idea of a continuous and accessible urban surface that sinks into the water and emerges from the water to the city, thus creating a powerful link between land and city. This waterfront plaza provides accessibility to and from the water and the city. This link was achieved by a single high point jutting out into the water at high tide accompanied by softly faceted slopes that welcome the water as it rises and reveals accessible surfaces when the water retracts.

With tide variations, the water and the shore’s edge are blurred and water and city are once again reunited.