FISH FARM

Harvard University // Limnology Center & River Barrier // Chicago, IL // 2011

The history of the Chicago Shipping and Sanitary Canal is one born on the back of Industry. Serving as a way point for water based cargo transport throughout the US, a staging space for the meat processing factories made infamous by The Jungle, or the threshold into the fishing and recreational markets of the Great Lakes Region, the Canal has deeply influenced the economy and lifeblood of the City and its constituents for over 100 years. The invasive Asian Carp now threatens this gateway.

This project attempts to utilize the unsettling characteristics of the Asian Carp as the driver for a new industry in Chicago: a biological resource with Agricultural, Fuel, and Food Implications. A Barrier Wall that stops the Carp from invading the Great Lakes is constructed in the waterway, and doubles as a recreational circuit and spectacular promenade for the surrounding neighborhoods. At its terminus, the Limnology Center acts as a destination and educational tool for the local population to engage with and embrace the new Carp Industry.