Vysakh Veluthedath Pankajakshan

Cities are a human construct, it is contradictory to try to approach them from an ecological point of view. This has led to debate about whether to construct an urban area purely for anthropological comfort and needs, or rather to promote ecological stewardship. and one for which there is no perfect solution, only ongoing research and effort based on the apparatus's setting. Often the designs are catered towards human comfort due to the self-exceptionalist nature of our society. In order to achieve a harmonious cohabitation, this thesis investigates how far these two points of view could be maintained in balance. Through this thesis, an investigative design by research approach is done, with wetness as a major proponent in securing this balance. The research by Anuradha Mathur and Dilip da Cunha, ‘Ocean of Wetness’ is referred to and inspired from, to create a prototype of urban intervention capable of challenging the current design regime in practice. Throughout this thesis, a ‘blurred line’ between wetness and land is sought out through the design of a university in Daire, along the banks of river Foyle.

The concept of wetness is considered something to be fought against, to be kept away or controlled to maintain a comfortable urban landscape. Because of this the wetness is always segregated, confined and observed from a distance. This led to the confinement of the river Foyle between the well-defined river edges and complete isolation from the citizens except for the visual connection. The wetness has to be redistributed, not just the river. The wetness is rearranged throughout the city inspired by the Lough Foyle wetness patterns using a translation method of watercolour dripping through the perforations in the wetness pattern. The University of Daire is distributed across old abandoned textile factory sites dotting across the Daire landscape. The New Daire Forest is formed around the university as territories of wetness seep into Daire like a huge canvas dropped on an archipelago of wetness and soil.