Under Unit 2 Occupied Bridge Building with Biosophic Themes, Princes Street gardens is to become a
new wetland. I acknowledge that wetland formation is a process which occurs over time. This new
wetland landscape recalls the marshy lands of the Nor’ Loch anchoring old town Edinburgh for over
500 years. It also acknowledges our changing climate which has resulted in the regular flooding of West
Princes Street gardens, embracing it as an opportunity to enable future occupation of the city in spite
of changing environmental conditions whilst reflecting (upon) the city’s rich civic history. My proposal
for an occupied bridge carefully considers the rich ground upon which it rests, attempting to sensitively
navigate the current and future physical site environment whilst reflecting the civic context of Edinburgh
throughout time. I propose a bridge which is an archaeological tool for uncovering and consolidating
artefacts marking the city’s history: flotsam and jetsam of past lives lost to the Loch via the city’s
drains and and open sewers. The bridge facilitates the excavation process and links spaces for cleaning,
processing, storing and displaying artefacts. It also makes use of the sediment collection that occurs
during cleaning of artefacts and processing of soil samples in an in-situ making of ceramic shingles
from waste sediment, which will form the bridge’s weatherproofing cladding: the bridge itself is excavated
from the historic ground. As such, mirroring the gradual growth of a wetland environment, the occupied
bridge is constructed over several stages, its form and construction dictated by location of archaeological
digs and volume of ground interrogated and processed, all while meandering amongst memorials to
Edinburgh’s people.
To view the full project and other works, please visit my website accessible via the above.
