SINKING GROUNDS, RISING CHALLENGES ARCHITECTURE OF RESILIENCE: DESIGNIING FOR CLIMATE MIGRATION IN ISLE DE JEAN CHARLES

Abstract

Climate change is forcing communities worldwide to relocate as rising seas, erosion, and flooding make land uninhabitable. Isle de Jean Charles in southern Louisiana, home to the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe, has lost 98 percent of its land, changing from a wide marsh landscape into a narrow strip surrounded by water. The government relocation to New Isle offered physical safety, but it did not fully address cultural continuity, community trust, or emotional connection to ancestral land. This research explores how architecture can respond to climate-induced migration while preserving identity, memory, and belonging. It asks whether communities can continue living with water rather than only retreating from it. Through mapping, field observation, and community-based analysis, the project proposes an amphibious and expandable framework for Isle de Jean Charles. The design combines floating platforms, elevated bridges, oyster reef systems, and culturally grounded programs such as a fishing hub, cultural center, festival ground, workshops, and temporary gathering spaces. The project is organized in phases so it can grow, adapt, or move as the landscape changes. Instead of seeing relocation as separation, this thesis imagines architecture as both shelter and a cultural vessel, protecting lives while keeping memory, tradition, and collective identity alive for future generations.