Independent Study, FL18

Washington University in St. Louis Sam Fox School of Art and Design, Advisor: Alexandra Waller

Project Brief: 


When the property lies vacant, but is not yet city property, the lot can undergo some natural reclamation within the process of ecological succession. Treating this vacancy as an opportunity to restore the exterior walls of the building and facilitate the ecological succession of native prairie inside the walls allows for the preservation of historic homes and the increase of green space and much needed prairie biome to support endemic species.  The restored exterior brick walls of each house would become the border of the protected prairie inside. Vacant homes are turned into protective forms, housing wilderness areas that function as a group, while remaining contained individually. Sited on lots neighboring each other, there is easy interaction between species and individuals living and growing within each boundary.