PROJECT ABSTRACT: RECLAIM, REGROW, REVIVE

We are reclaiming abandoned oil rigs and transforming them into a site of regrowth in order to revive the ecosystem. Our project is responding to two major site conditions in the Gulf of Mexico, the hypoxic dead zone and the effect of rising ocean acidification. Offshore oil rigs provide a protected area where corals have created nontraditional reef environments by attaching to the steel substructure of the rigs. We’re converting rigs into sustainable harvesters of energy and food production to rehabilitate the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico.

The drilling infrastructure is reused for the production of geothermal energy and the injection of CO2 into the seafloor, while the platforms are the base for hydroponic farms, a desalination plant, housing, and leisure programs. Researchers in underwater labs study the rehabilitation of the marine ecosystem and deploy reoxygenating capsules into the hypoxic dead zone. Between the platforms, aquaculture and coral farms populate the water.

Here, architecture enables ecosystem regrowth by providing a site for positive human intervention, and a habitat for marine species. Rather than control nature, we want to help all species reclaim their agency by creating an architecture that acts as a mediator between the human and non-human.