Weijing Wang / Landscape designer

When I browsed the photos of the explosion at the port of Alang, India, on the BBC, I was greatly shocked. Local work processes that have not been properly planned and the harsh use of natural shorelines not only cause serious marine pollution but also directly threaten the safety and physical health of workers.

I began to look for the best solution to the development dilemma in this region where ship-breaking is a pillar industry without introducing complicated technologies - Combining cotton production and ship-breaking industries for a better, safer, and sustainable streamline for the locals.

The project aims to modify the sealine with a series of "feather islands" extending from the shore, incorporating cutton farms and other industrial infrastructures to optimize the workflow of both industries. The "feather islands" are designed to fit different sizes of ships to be pre-cleaned and then dismantled, they are also contoured in a way that tidal force comes in to help with towing the ships ashore.

I believe landscape design has the potential, with both its aesthetic and technical forms and system invention, to contribute to sustainability in particular ways, and safe lives.