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Levee



Jim Peraino
Washington University in St. Louis, 2009

Problem
The canals that drain New Orleans are bounded by high walls. These walls hide the water; they create inviolable boundaries in the city; and they are subject to failure.

Proposal
This project reconfigures the boundaries of the London Avenue Canal as a stepped earthen levee. The terraces that face the canal become building sites. The water creates a real estate amenity and becomes an urban front rather than a hidden nuisance, and the terraced inner levee becomes a public space that allows pedestrian and bicycle passage across town. Terracing the levee adds to its stability, and the houses built on its upper level are safe from flooding.