Weaving access: ecological architecture for refuge along the Welland Canal
Date
2023-04-12
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Abstract
To engage everyone, human and non-human, and
provide refuge, is an act of kindness. If the world we
chose to create will be accessible to everyone, we must
design it this way. Sensually, and socially, architecture
can act as the tool we use as a community to create a
landscape that engages us, while still connecting us to
our biographical and geographical history. All within our
control, some things, such as the industrial revolution,
have forced communities including the indigenous, to
move and develop around these infrastructures. Although
economical, some infrastructures out of our control were
a result of compromises, such as the Welland Canal and
the Niagara Escarpment. Which begs the question, how can we provide refuge for
the people who built our communities, the specially-abled,
and the wildlife we depend on? Perhaps by reclaiming a
site that has close ties to this industrial prominence from
colonization, and making it our own again. Resembling a
community space for healing, and recreation, activities we
already informally participate in, and providing a sense of
place to the site. In this case, the Welland Canal, and the
site adjacent to the West of Lock 4.
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Keywords
Access, biodiversity, ecology, recreation, refuge, healing