Retaining Terracette
Sea Promenade
TOMBOLO 2022
Our endeavours on Po Toi continued with the Ancient Tree Defense structure, designed to protect a seaside tree from collapsing because the tides brought the soil underneath away, creating a void below the tree. We designed a gabion retaining wall, filled with bricks which is porous and does not drench the soil around. Being next to the pier also allows for a breezy and sheltered space for people to sit and wait for the ferry back.
The project is complex in terms of labour, logistics and construction. Using smaller-sized and lighter materials, we were able to construct an entire infrastructure with manual labour. With help from villagers, friends, teachers and students over the past six months, the project is currently near its completion.
This project not only contains social potential in the space created but also displays how the construction process itself is social work, rather than a means to an end. The intrinsic need for sourcing tools, materials, and labour in construction naturally rekindled relationships between villagers. We witnessed how our initial contact with a few of them grew to involve an entire network, and many of those villagers who contributed have proactively returned. We have also invited our friends from various backgrounds - mentors, students, and young artists to participate. Again, we see a self-bolstering social effect, as their friends join us too. Those who come regularly have also become acquainted with the villagers. Thus, the social impact we have induced re-ignites dormant connections and builds new relations.
