Transitional Architecture: A Temporary Architectural System for De-Industrializing Waterfronts

The following thesis began as an investigation into port cities that lie in the limbo between industrial and post-industrial. It questions the role of architecture during this stage of transition. The research brought forth a vision of infrastructural re-use and reversible architecture, aimed to address the indeterminate and environmental condition of de-industrialized contexts. Essentially this thesis envisions the reactivation of wasted rail and manufacturing infrastructure present among industrial-port cities. They are to become a supply chain network, producing temporary architecture. Areas of high rail density such as rail yards and industrial piers thus act as incubators of the future era; served by a reversible architecture. These communities become the focus of the city's redevelopment efforts while resisting the pressure of permanent, large scale redevelopments. As the transition from industrial to post-industrial nears stabilization, more permanent solutions will begin to emerge while the architecture may move on to serve another context.