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Unblocking the “Vessels” of Phillipsdale


Providence, RI

   
The Mother Of Narragansett

CHAPTER1: The Abundant Mother


How shall I describe you?
My abundant mother;

Like the pumpkins in fall, that color the fields.
Like the milk from the mountain top, that feed the rivers.
Like the ripe stars in July, that keep my eyes peeled.

I pick up your fallen hair to build my home,
I collect your tears from the sky to quench my thirst,
I grow food on your skin to feed my family.

You never take, but you always provide.
So I pile up stones to pray for you;
Bury salmon in the soil to nourish you;
Look at the vast starry sky to remember you.

The things I took from you nurtured me,
And also became me.
Whenever I walk barefoot on the wet spring soil,
I am the rain in your hands.

CHAPTER 2


One day I welcomed guests from far away for you;
Taught them your breath and how to breathe with you.

Then built the factories, dark toxins entered your body.
Came the tree-dozers, deforestation tore your soft skin.
The dams were built, cold concrete blocked your vessels.

So the river becomes dirty;
The shell disappeared on the once abundant river bank.
The migratory salmon can't find the place that used to be home.
We are forced to return to the darkness of the forest.

I can't feel the softness of the wind,
Can't smell the fragrance of the grass,
Can't hear the crispness of birdsong.
    
GUIDING PRINCIPLES


REGENERATIVE CO-HABITAT


LAND USE EDUCATION BASED ON SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

DYNAMIC EDGE

ADAPTIVE RE-USE OF SITE MATERIALITY AND EXISTING
INFRASTRUCTURE



ANALYSIS


—current conditions we are focusing on


Indigenous Culture
Impaction of dams
Soil contamination & water pollution
Ribbed Mussel & Spartina
Relationship between the site and its surroundings



6 MAIN GESTURES
Fish Passage
Soil Remediation
Water Quality Improvement
Soften edge & fish shelter
Provide Education Through Indigineous Practices
Create Economic Drivers

DESIGN PART

PHASE 1
(0-5 years)
Unblocking
Unblock the Vessels
At last
I convinced them to unblock your vessels;
The steps made of water will straddle the once devastated land.

So the salmon finally set off on their way home;
Plants regrow from the broken river bank.

I'm dressing up, calling on friends and families,
Reunited with them in the autumn wind.


PHASE 2
(5-10 years)
Infusing

In the coming future,

We will purify your blood;
The elves on the river banks will help suck the poison out of your body.

We will treat your skin;
The green giants will heal your wounds after the spring rain falls.

We will heal your womb;
The growing of food will feed your humble people.

We infuse new blood to our mother,
We tell the story of mother in our own language.
PHASE 3
(10-15 years)
Sharing


If you ask me,
How shall we share this piece of new land ?

I’d say,
By the fragrance of corn in the farmland,
The weight of the fresh seeds cradled in our palms,
The kindness of strangers in the weekend fair,
The sunflowers on the dinner table,
The tender waves hitting the canoes,
The glorious return of mother Narragansett.
INDIGENOUS FARM & BUILDING RENEW

TYPOLOGY

Running on Cargo