This project begins with footage taken in 1965 by my grandfather at their old family bach at the Opihi River on the outskirts of Timaru, my hometown. Having been demolished a decade later, this building had a fleeting presence on the site.

Since then, the quality of the river and the surrounding plains has degraded rapidly through intensification of land use and demand for its natural resources. Returning to the site in 2022, I found a dairy pivot irrigator resting directly on the footprint of the old bach, which seemed to symbolise the dramatic transition of the site.

I have responded to this situation through architecture, as a way to unravel the complexities and tension held within the site, tackling the issue of land degradation and its corresponding effects on the river. The project grapples with the ephemeral, mnemonic qualities of the site and speculates on how architecture can enable us to view issues of degradation, and the site itself, in a new light.