Esmeralda Corridor
Restoring Environmental Connection & Stewardship After Disaster
UNC Charlotte David R. Ravin School of Architecture, Charlotte, NC
This studio partnered with the village of Chimney Rock, NC to imagine possibilities for redevelopment following destructive flooding from Hurricane Helene in 2024.
Grounded in ecological education and trauma-informed design, this design bridges the needs of a recovering community with the area’s established tourism economy, fostering long-term resilience and stewardship both ecologically and economically.
The design for the town’s western “Esmeralda Corridor” focused on creating floodable infrastructure along the riverbed and edges while also supporting the area’s function as a gateway and tourist hub for the town. Along with restoring Highway 74 and enhancing it with pedestrian infrastructure to provide a walkable high-water connection to the town center, the plan introduces a small neighborhood market and public gathering space to serve local residents and visitors to the surrounding vacation rental properties.
The design also considers more-than-human stakeholders as it negotiates access to the river. Nature-based rewilding solutions repair the thriving riparian ecosystem and support biodiversity, and a wildlife crossing over the highway restores safe paths for animals to reach the river.
For Chimney Rock’s human residents and visitors, the Riverwalk and interpretive signage offer active engagement and opportunities to learn about the river’s history and ecology, reframing the river as an ever-changing local asset rather than a threat to local livability.
If you’d like to see more of this project, please email me at enew302@gmail.com.
Left: Clipped view of Master Plan