a collective sand factory
One sentence:
⅔ of the sand on Southern California’s beaches will be gone by 2100, prompting an immediate and reliable bottom-up collective architectural solution that bypasses large government bills.
One paragraph:
“Sand, although it might seem limitless, is not free. It’s the most exploited and consumed natural resource in the world after fresh water.” The coastline of southern California will lose ⅓ of its sand by 2100. With the US government failing to provide the large top down funds necessary to replenish the beaches, in a fictional narrative, the homeowners have decided to make their own sand - parcel by parcel. At the same time, the property value in southern California has almost doubled, and the space existing, between, beside and adjacent to these properties have become a space of intervention.Through Privately Owned Public Space also known as POPs- they will, over time, relinquish the access of this space to the city. This space will be converted to small publicly owned factories, crushing and grinding rocks into small pieces.
Full statment:
The city of Laguna Beach in Orange County California welcomes 6.3 million visitors each year, with a direct visitor spending of $677.9 million; however, the main attraction, the sandy beaches that dot the seven mile coastline are dying. Slowly eroding due to increased frequency of large swells, and storms - pulling the pristine sand back into the depths of the ocean. Since the 1920’s, there have been replenishment programs on a 5-7 year cycle; with sand coming from large coastal building projects nearby including the Seal Beach Weapons Station project in 1964 which brought 5.3 million cubic yards to Orange County’s beaches; however, this has not happened since 2009. A top down solution from Congress, would provide funding for ocean dredging and sand replenishment- but due to political stalemate and the negativity of multi-million dollar spending bills, the project has not been funded in 20 years.
(fiction) Keeping this in mind, the homeowners of Laguna have grown more flustered with the lack of action from congress. Through a bold, and bottom-up collective effort they have decided to create their own sand. An all hands on deck method that will revitalize the beaches, parcel by parcel. How will they do it?
The average property value in Laguna Beach is currently $3.3 million, nearly double (1.942) the value just two years ago. From 2020 to 2022, Laguna Beach saw on average an increase in property value by 94%. The homeowners of Laguna Beach have realized that their suburban single family home typology is conducive to occupying the “empty” space that exists between, beside and adjacent to one another. Through Privately Owned Public Space also known as POPs- they will, over time, relinquish the access of this space to the city. This space will be converted to small publicly owned factories, crushing and grinding rocks into small pieces.
The city of Laguna Beach has agreed to test how this model might function with a direct sand to cash relationship. The cubic feet of sand produced will be proportionate to the value of the land given up for PoPs. For example, if a piece of land being relinquished is valued at $1 million, then the factory would need to produce 10% of that, or 100,000 cubic feet, which is about half as big as The Goodyear Blimp. If the homeowner meets this level of production they will receive a tax rebate. The homeowners have agreed that the rebate they receive will go into a collective fund which will be used to finance a large-scale dredging and sand replenishment project in the future.
The city has agreed to test this model in five different scales, XS, S, M, L, XL.
⅔ of the sand on Southern California’s beaches will be gone by 2100, prompting an immediate and reliable bottom-up collective architectural solution that bypasses large government bills.
One paragraph:
“Sand, although it might seem limitless, is not free. It’s the most exploited and consumed natural resource in the world after fresh water.” The coastline of southern California will lose ⅓ of its sand by 2100. With the US government failing to provide the large top down funds necessary to replenish the beaches, in a fictional narrative, the homeowners have decided to make their own sand - parcel by parcel. At the same time, the property value in southern California has almost doubled, and the space existing, between, beside and adjacent to these properties have become a space of intervention.Through Privately Owned Public Space also known as POPs- they will, over time, relinquish the access of this space to the city. This space will be converted to small publicly owned factories, crushing and grinding rocks into small pieces.
Full statment:
The city of Laguna Beach in Orange County California welcomes 6.3 million visitors each year, with a direct visitor spending of $677.9 million; however, the main attraction, the sandy beaches that dot the seven mile coastline are dying. Slowly eroding due to increased frequency of large swells, and storms - pulling the pristine sand back into the depths of the ocean. Since the 1920’s, there have been replenishment programs on a 5-7 year cycle; with sand coming from large coastal building projects nearby including the Seal Beach Weapons Station project in 1964 which brought 5.3 million cubic yards to Orange County’s beaches; however, this has not happened since 2009. A top down solution from Congress, would provide funding for ocean dredging and sand replenishment- but due to political stalemate and the negativity of multi-million dollar spending bills, the project has not been funded in 20 years.
(fiction) Keeping this in mind, the homeowners of Laguna have grown more flustered with the lack of action from congress. Through a bold, and bottom-up collective effort they have decided to create their own sand. An all hands on deck method that will revitalize the beaches, parcel by parcel. How will they do it?
The average property value in Laguna Beach is currently $3.3 million, nearly double (1.942) the value just two years ago. From 2020 to 2022, Laguna Beach saw on average an increase in property value by 94%. The homeowners of Laguna Beach have realized that their suburban single family home typology is conducive to occupying the “empty” space that exists between, beside and adjacent to one another. Through Privately Owned Public Space also known as POPs- they will, over time, relinquish the access of this space to the city. This space will be converted to small publicly owned factories, crushing and grinding rocks into small pieces.
The city of Laguna Beach has agreed to test how this model might function with a direct sand to cash relationship. The cubic feet of sand produced will be proportionate to the value of the land given up for PoPs. For example, if a piece of land being relinquished is valued at $1 million, then the factory would need to produce 10% of that, or 100,000 cubic feet, which is about half as big as The Goodyear Blimp. If the homeowner meets this level of production they will receive a tax rebate. The homeowners have agreed that the rebate they receive will go into a collective fund which will be used to finance a large-scale dredging and sand replenishment project in the future.
The city has agreed to test this model in five different scales, XS, S, M, L, XL.
ARTIFACT
