BArch Dissertation 2014
Kok-Aral Dyke, North Aral Region, Kyzyl Orda Oblast, Kazakhstan
46.102051, 60.768937
Dean's Citation for Excellence
Awarded Ralph T. Walker Travel Prize- visit photography section for more.
A large transnational body of water shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea was once the fourth largest inland sea on Earth, dried due to Soviet Irrigation practices. Nine years ago, with the support of the World Bank, the Kazakh government finished the construction of a 14km dyke to raise the level of the sea in the North, restoring its ecology as a massive constructed landscape. Since then, the water level, and therefore regional ecology, is regulated by a 50m concrete spillway. The site is both a popular tourist destination and strategic site for fishing. The government currently plans to raise the Dyke and sea level by an additional 4m to reach the original shoreline, necessitating a reconstruction of the spillway. As a currently inexistent interface between tourism and fishing industries on site, this project investigates the capacity of architecture to expose the role of the Kok-Aral spillway within its larger sociopolitical network with the introduction of a seasonally interchangeable program.
Assuming the eventual reconstruction of the 50m spillway, this project investigates the capacity of its architecture to expose the role of the Kok-Aral spillway within its larger sociopolitical network with the introduction of a seasonally responsive program. Specifically, it begs the question, can it behave as an interface between the local fishing community and a growing global tourism industry?
The development of a vertical structure helps to create a wayfinding device for the regional fleet, as much as the integration of high-frequency antennas. To accommodate visitors, it is an opportunity for a viewing platform that allows the observation of the expansive flatness of the former sea.
The materiality of such a project necessarily takes into account its geographical, political, and economic situation. The large amount of concrete necessary to raise the 14km dyke by 4m means it will be readily available for an architectural project. Corroded steel panels from the desert's abandoned ships make reference to the site's past site and re-purpose its remains.
The underground dwelling typology is adapted from the nearby underground villages that are so common among fishing brigades, incorporating its spatial layouts and heating/cooling strategies.
A large congregation hall overlooking the spillway serves as a gathering space with a kitchenette and tables for sharing meals. One of the abandoned ships is incorporated (at 1992 sea level) as a didactic device. Around the perimeter of the ship are a series of exhibitions that invite visitors to descend and play with the structure while learning about the Aral Sea's history. The ship structure perforates through the concrete shell, which acts as an auditorium from the other side.
By incorporating its repetitive ribbed structure, the spillway itself is reinvented as an large open gallery. A thick pane of glass allows observation of the passing of water from under water level.
Ascending from the congregation hall and auditorium spaces, the concrete promenade carves into the actual Kok-Aral Dyke structure to incorporate the underground dwelling spaces and a Russian bathhouse for the use of both locals and tourists.
An opportunity to attain height with a tower structure allows visitors to experience the scale and horizontality of the region. Additionally, it makes visible the "natural" phenomena that have emerged since the disappearance of the Aral Sea, such as sandstorms along the Aral Kum (Aral Desert), which can pick up particles and take them as far as India.
As previously mentioned, the strict seasonal regulation of the North Aral Sea has turned the Kok-Aral spillway into a site for fishing during the summer months. The provision of a safe fishing ramp creates a safe setting for socialization while still accommodating local economic activity.
Also published on:
http://byoventures.com/borderline.html
http://issuu.com/francismccloskey/docs/131204_mccloskey_thesisprep