A seawall can be called many things: a monstrosity, band-aid, or an eyesore. But hardly a piece of art. Nor is it a sustainable tool for the environment. The generally vast, concrete structures line the coastal lines to deter water from damaging homes or communities, but don’t do any favors for the environment by causing flooding by rearranging the water flow.
Paul Sangha Landscape Architecture
This project in Vancouver, however, solves both of those issues. Built for a home that was severely damaged from record-breaking tides in Dec. 2012, Canadian landscape architecture firm Paul Sangha Landscape Architecture devised Metamorphous. The project includes a series of boulders with added plants like dune grasses and pine shrubberies to deposit sand. The wall is made out of a Corten steel shell that can be applied with a hose, and then filled with concrete, making it look more a sculpture than a blemish. The firm was given a design award this past September by the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Read more about this project at CityLab.
