Alexandria Waterfront Threshold: A Place for Learning and Community

Abstract

My thesis is a space to display the parts of a ship hull excavated from the ground along the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. My thesis is about finding a way to display these ship hull parts in a way that not only contextualizes and informs the public about them, but also respects their part in the history of the Potomac River and the neighboring buildings.

These found ship hull parts (from here they will be referred to as the "found ship") amount to one third of the hull of a late 18th century merchant ship that was scuttled along the waterfront of Alexandria to extend the shoreline and to create more useable land. It was one of four found over a period of three years between 2015 and 2018. It was the largest, being approximately 102 feet long, 25 1/4 feet in beam, and 11 feet deep; it was believed to be three-masted, fully rigged (or ship rigged), with the main mast estimated to have been at least 100 feet tall. It is also estimated to be flat-floored and to be able to carry up to 264 tons. The recovered remains are 85 feet long and 30 feet wide.

It is my goal to display the found ship in a publicly accessible manner that not only represents the history correctly, but also respects the context of both today and its time. To display the found ship, I will need to either display it as-is (some old pieces of wood) or as a part of a fully reconstructed vessel. Both present challenges and advantages but will be unique design additions to the project.

Regardless of how I choose to display the found ship, I must display it somewhere. To do this, I need to design a building that not only allows it to be displayed, but that does so in a way that is respectful to it the context of the city and river themselves. I will design a building on a site immediately adjacent to West's Point Park on the Potomac Waterfront.