This drawing features a section through an armature serving in a more ecologically sustainable process of artificial island dredging in the reefs of the South China Sea. In recent years, the Spratly Islands have existed in a zone of political dispute and obscurity, sitting unclaimed in international waters, directly in the midst of the world’s most travelled trading routes. Each reef creates a natural resource boundary of 12 nautical miles, laying claim to any potential oil reserve that may lie beneath it. Possibly in search of such oil reserves, China has been gaining political ground by dredging concrete along these reefs, in blatant disregard of the United Nations’ opposition to the ecologically damaging endeavor. The project proposes to recover economic influence for countries adjacent to the contested region through a more environmentally conscious dredging process. This drawing conveys the notion of growth as coral displaces along other reefs, allowing for the reefs to naturally repopulate the islands. The project deals with varying levels of depth and intends to portray the diverse experiences embedded in an architecture not based on human occupation. It exists in the interplay of nature and machine as one seamlessly merges with the other.

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