ENLIVENING MISSISSIPPI
Finalist, Portman Prize Studio
Mayersville, Mississippi,, 2022
Instructor: Daniel Baerlacken
Georgia Institute of Technology
The control of the Mississippi river alignment by clay plugs in the Lake Providence reaches the Mississippi River near Mayersville, Mississippi. The river can migrate freely into the sandy deposits because of these clay plugs. The 50-foot-high levee once created to protect the towns from flooding disconnected the town and the river with no visual access to the river. The aim of this project was to try to collect the rainwater into retention ponds created at low points forming a loop in the topography around the town, prevent the area from flooding during monsoon, and rejuvenate the connection between the water body and the town.
Site Plan for Mayersville
THE COMMUNITY BUILDING
These micro water bodies linked the town to the river through a walking pathway with several access points even providing access to the community center which sits on top of the levee, providing the perfect elevation for a sunset stop and creating revenue with exhibition spaces raising awareness about the Delta region and flora and fauna surrounding it with three interconnected buildings. The new dwellings surrounded the retention ponds making them have access to water both physically and visually.
Sections through the Community Building
THE DWELLING
The dwelling has been designed as a prototype sitting on the north-south orientation allowing for maximum light and ventilation. This prototype can be clubbed forming a 2-unit cluster with a shared deck. The roads in the entire town raise up 4 feet from the ground, so that the town remains functional even when it's flooded. The frontage of the building sits on either end of the elevated roads and acts as a public space. This continuous promenade connects the old and the new dwelling to the community center along with the retention ponds on either end of the Mayersville Connector. These pathways are connected with a series of cycling tracks and pedestrian walkways, lined down with local foliage, to provide shade and resting spaces.