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200715_MIIM_WS_Manhattan Beach Dunes_RFP

Manhattan Beach Dune Restoration

 

Date: 2020

Location: Manhattan Beach, LA

Project Team: MIIM Design + Julia Watson

Client: The Bay Foundation

While the majority of the previous Manhattan Beach dune ecosystem lies buried beneath the city’s buildings and streets, the continued growth of the shoreline over the past 100 years seen by the gradual exposure of sand beneath the Pier, hints at the opportunities designers can catalyze.

“Sensory” envisions a strong sensory narrative that engages the ephemerality of the seasons and cycles that have continued to remake the shoreline throughout time, including the growth of new territory seaward and new topography skyward. Through a process involving four landscape techniques; 1. Planting, 2. Fencing & Fabric, 3. Dune Nourishment & 4. Runoff Capture; our design will generate a sensory spectacle of microcosms within an undulating microtopography
of miniature sand dunes.


With this proposal, the Manhattan Beach community will be able to celebrate the dynamic nature of Manhattan Beach, including the evolving geomorphology; the healthy dune ecosystem; and the wildness of the indigenous biodiversity as an experiential, sensory spectacle. Together, these objectives will redirect the damaging level of historical disturbance to Manhattan Beach, towards a resilient strategy for a sustainable future, even in the face of rising water levels and extreme weather events.

The studio acknowledges that we are sited on the traditional lands of the first people of Brooklyn, New York—the Lenape people past and present—and honor them and the land with gratitude.

Contact Us

For other inquiries, email info@juliawatson.com

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