Salt Dam: A Speculative Project That Investigates How Architecture Might Sustainably Work With Human And Urban Development | Bachelors Design Project On Regenerative Architecture

Site Context

Contribution of Salt Mist to the Air Quality of Coastal Cities: Although Houston is well-known for its oil refineries and large urban areas, its air quality is far worse than that of its surrounding cities (2007, NOAA). Factories release SO2, and the city generates NOx. The chemicals transform into NO2Cl when they come into contact with the Atlantic Ocean’s salt mist. The primary cause of air pollution, ozone, is created by the photoactive reaction of N O C l.  

Potential Site: Serving as the gateway to Houston’s oceanfront, Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula experience the highest wind frequency, leading to elevated levels of salt mist in the air. Aging buildings near Galveston’s shoreline and the expansive vacant land on the Bolivar Peninsula present ideal sites for installing vertical filters to trap airborne salt particles.

Urban Structure of Houston: Houston lacks natural geographic barriers to block the mixing of salt mist from the Atlantic Ocean with industrial pollutants. The proposed filter architecture aims to address this issue by helping to reduce the spread of salt mist into the city’s urban areas.

Design Process

The project began with an observation of an everyday object—pottery. The designer focused on its baking process at the microscopic level to explore how its natural filtering properties function.

Through detailed research, four key stages were identified that transform the material and its particles, which were then represented through physical experiments and hand-drawn illustrations. The role of salt in pottery emerged as a crucial element in its filtration mechanism, inspiring the development of a new façade typology that incorporates a salt layer as a filter.

Since both baking pottery and salt layer formation are driven by natural processes, the concept aimed to design a system that could be shaped by nature itself. The project therefore explores how natural forces can be harnessed to form a “salt skin” and generate a new form of urban aesthetic through this naturally created surface.

Final Outcome

Salt mist carried by coastal winds poses a growing environmental threat to the air quality of urban shoreline areas. Can architecture respond by filtering this airborne salt—capturing it and transforming it into a building material? This concept envisions a new façade typology, where salt naturally accumulates over time to form a layered screen.

Salt Dam is a speculative project that invites reflection on how architecture can collaborate with nature to support sustainable human and urban development. The project illustrates how natural elements can be reimagined as architectural solutions to address urban challenges caused by human activity.

Architecture, at its core, is about harnessing nature to fulfill human needs. Much of what we consider beautiful in architecture stems from our innate perception of nature, which continually inspires human design. With this in mind, the project poses a final question: What will the future of urban aesthetics look like as cities continue to evolve in tension—and in dialogue—with the natural world?

Conclusion: Ultimately, the project showcases how architecture can work with natural forces to create sustainable, evolving façades. By capturing salt mist, the project turns an environmental threat into a design opportunity, offering a new vision for urban aesthetics shaped by nature.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]