Discovery in landscape : revealing connections in place and journey

Abstract

This thesis is an exploration in sharpening a perception of a stretch of land. It is an attempt to enhance the natural form of land in an effort to reveal connections between the people of a region and the environment around them, thereby establishing a balance, a continuity which has been severed in the modem world. The topic of continuity is a central concern of the thesis. The project itself is a place of respite which is a place about life rather than a retreat from it. It is administered by an alliance of conservation groups known as "The Coalition for Buzzards Bay", with the place serving as their base for outreach to the community. The focus is on a small region in Southeastern Massachusetts and the project is for the people of that region. The thesis is organized in three parts, the first a description of the region, the particular site, and the program which will serve the memory of the reader when moving on through the work. The second is a construction of ideas which I find related to the issue of continuity, illustrated with work outside the thesis and pieces of this work itself. The third part is a journey through the site and project illustrating the application of the ideas which are brought up in the previous section.