Reinterpreting historical landmark preservation through incremental adaptation
Location: Liberty state park, jersey city, New Jersey
The “Contingency Plan” addresses rising sea levels by incrementally re-appropriating abandoned structures to adapt to an evolving landscape. Focused on prolonging the life cycle of historical landmarks, the project integrates controlled demolition, selective reinforcement, and programmed ground conditions to create estuaries, ecosystems, and recreational spaces, extending the coastline’s resilience. The intervention at the abandoned train shed embraces incremental rehabilitation, preserving its historical significance while adapting to submergence through phased construction. This approach creates a living monument that evolves with the shifting environment, embodying a balance of preservation and adaptability.
Model | Concept MODEL
Situating contested territories | jersey City Train Shed
Contested territories of human endeavor and natural resurgence can be observed in the liberty state park abandoned trainshed in Jersey City. The site encapsulates the ebb and flow between the forces of nature, human occupation, invention and technology. The trainshed, once the symbol of transportation development throughout the history stays abandoned in the park. Despite the once remarkable achievements of human endeavor, the abandoned trainshed is being re-wilded by nature
Drawing 01 | Temporal Elements of the Abandoned train shed
The drawing explores the temporal elements and modular construction components of the abandoned Jersey City train shed, incorporating a timeline from its construction to its abandonment, highlighting the interplay between time and its structural design
Drawing 02 | Discovering the Temporals
Drawing 03 | Future Flood Map of the Hudson River
Drawing 04 | Geographic analysis of jersey city
Drawing 05 | programming wetness
By introducing tectonics as a means of controlled demolition and selective reinforcement, ground conditions and wetness are programmed to create estuaries, diverse recreational accommodations, and ecosystems, thereby extending the coastline’s life cycle
Model | Concept Model
The concept model shows a prospect of reconciliation between the train shed and nature. It is divided into three parts: the past and present phase, the selective removal phase, and the contingency plan to respond to the rising sea level
Drawing 06 & 07 | Programming ground condition
The concept employs a phased construction approach, emphasizing incremental rehabilitation and controlled intervention, with three phases: controlled demolition, selective reinforcement, and land transformation, progressing in planned stages to anticipate and adapt to the site’s imminent submergence
Drawings AND RENDERINGS | Evolving Recreation Through Incremental Rehabilitation
The construction and rehabilitation are envisaged to occur incrementally until 2100, enabling an effective response to the rising sea level and ensuring the longevity and relevance of the intervention. Human perception of recreation will evolve over time, with people gradually adapting to the changing waterfront by re-appropriating the train shed, thus extending the coastline’s life cycle
Tectonic model | A Reimagined Methodology of preservation
By encasing the existing cast iron structure in concrete, the material is protected from further decay, and the structure is reinforced to utilize its rooftop as the new ground level. Over time, the negative imprints of the structural components will be preserved within the concrete
Rendering 01 | Land transformation Archive
Rendering 02 | Historical Train Shed Archive
The land’s transformation and layers over time will be archived, with the train shed as a cumulative archival space. Through reinforcements and casted imprints, the shed’s historical elements will be preserved. This symbiosis of preservation and adaptation aims to create a living monument that evolves gracefully over time, bearing witness to history and the resilience of human ingenuity