Project by Mi Zhou
Fluid Metabolism explores an alternative future for Pier 76 in New York City by reframing the pier as an environmental interface rather than a fixed architectural object. The project investigates how air, water, vegetation, material systems, and human occupation can operate together as a metabolic system that responds to climatic, ecological, and social conditions.
Through multi-scalar analysis and design, the project integrates spatial strategies for airflow modulation, water circulation, plant-based environmental buffering, and public occupation. Instead of treating sustainability as an add-on, environmental processes are embedded directly into the spatial and formal logic of the project.
The design is informed by site-specific research, environmental mapping, and iterative modeling, aiming to transform Pier 76 into a performative landscape that negotiates between infrastructure, ecology, and public space.
