Sea2City envisions a decolonized approach to the ecological restoration and future stewardship of South False Creek by reframing Vancouver’s relationship to its shoreline, where prioritizing mutual benefits with Host Nations reframes the value of the historic shoreline, catalyzing design, practice, and policy change.
The resulting proposal comprises discrete pilot projects and an overall approach that reframes and adapts the city’s relationship with the shoreline, the processes that shape it, and how it is inhabited. This approach reconnects the watershed to underlying hydrologic and ecological functions, shifts development away from the waterfront to create a new Host Corridor along West 2nd and 6th Avenues, and restores False Creek’s shore as a natural landscape co-managed by the City of Vancouver and First Nations.
The Mithun+ONE team worked with the City, technical and community advisory groups, and youth to develop a bold vision for the stewardship of the South False Creek waterfront and transformation of its surrounding neighborhoods. Key to the process was learning from and collaborating with Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh knowledge keepers, cultural advisors, and artists, who shared their stories, insights, and visions for the future of the waterfront.
The two pilot projects—a forested berm and a habitat bench—integrate flood protection measures, habitat creation, and traditional knowledge. A forested berm tests new tree cultivars and plant guilds adapted to changing temperatures and supports red cedars, yellow cedars, and sequoias. A habitat bench is designed for people, marine life, reuse, and decay.
Renderings by Plomp for Mithun + ONE
Images by Mithun