2024

MAP Studio Kathy Wheeler (Primary Advisor)

This project, which served as a final Master of Architecture thesis project, explores concepts of time, memory, and ecological impact in an effort to re-define architectural preservation and adaptive-reuse.

The Candoro Marble Company warehouse complex in Vestal, Tennessee serves as a case study for understanding and exploring the potential future life of industrial ruins. This project makes every effort to honor the time value associated with the natural and intentional decay of the building by prioritizing the reuse of found materials and implementing, wherever possible, natural systems.

Rather than design a space purely for human occupation, this project recognizes the consequences of abandonment that lead to habitation by other life forms. These nonhuman occupants are given equal consideration in the planning and design of the ruin, allowing for the emergence of a holistic ecosystem. Human inhabitants are asked to sacrifice traditional manners of living in favor of becoming symbiotic members of this environment.