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LATENT STRATEGIES     By using representation (printmaking) to inform design, three strategies for inhabiting terrain in and around New Orleans were arrived at. These strategies are meant to be seen as starting points, as imaginings on ways to inhabit a fluid and unpredictable terrain.
INVESTIGATIONS     Through the etching process, latent conditions were gradually uncovered in a sample of sites in New Orleans and the delta region. Through processes of dissolution, impression, incision, removal, and agitation, the relationship between water and land in each site gradually shifted.
ACCUMULATING GROUND     For sites outside the city that consist of a spine of infrastructure and are located in backwaters, a strategy reminiscent of a logjam was conceived. By building jetty-like structures, land would be encouraged to form, on which habitation would be possible. The openness of the land and the graduated solidity of the ground make the terrain more resilient in flood and hurricane conditions.
PRESSURE RELEASE     A strategy of breaking boundaries and releasing flows was proposed for city edges that abut marshy conditions. By constraining development in bars that lie parallel to flows, and by releasing storm and flood waters, the threat of localized flooding would be greatly diminished. At the same time, a more complex relationship between water and land would be achieved.