Open Collections

The Visiting Centre : An Ecological Embassy for Victoria Harbour

Shave, McKean Kent

In the face of an escalating climate crisis and unprecedented rates of biodiversity loss, issues to which the built environment contributes significantly, this thesis proposes a new regenerative architectural process committed to the advocacy of more-than-human life. The project explores how architecture might not simply minimize harm, or exist sustainably, but actively participate in ecological repair and relational transformation. I propose a reimagining of the traditional visitors centre, not as a remote outpost within a protected park or preserve, but as an embedded, urban, and accessible ecological embassy. A space that does not serve human visitors to the natural world, but rather welcomes ecological presences into human environments. Through a reintroduction of Eelgrass, Garry Oak and Tidal Mudflat ecologies, and the creation of habitat-specific architectural interventions from the atomized materials of colonial architecture, the visiting centre functions as a living system, rather than a static monument. These designs, created in collaboration with community members, embrace decay, succession, and adaptability.

Graduating Project

eng

2025-05-08

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/91057

UBCV

Graduate

DSpace