Shifting the landscape: Preservation through projection

Abstract

Since its 1865 conception, the small freedman's town of Princeville, North Carolina has been plagued with twenty floods from the nearby Tar River. Through the destruction of homes, businesses and archived documents, these sporadic floods have led to an inherent instability of Princeville's historical and cultural landscapes. Existing flood control measures have severed the town from its historical site and the river from its natural floodplain. This project proposes to stabilize (and vitalize) the town by shifting the physical landscape to respond to both ecological and communal needs. The river is reconnected to an altered floodplain, increasing flood storage capacity and allowing the resulting wetland to filter river pollutants. An existing dike spreads to become an inhabitable landform, allowing residents to return to the waterside. In contrast to the former dike, this shifted landscape offers opportunities for new town/wetland adjacencies while referencing historical conditions through specific moments in the landscape.