From Stress to Biophilia: Ecological restoration & cultural development for sustainable aquaculture landscape

Oyster is the most famous icon in Rushan. Most of the seaside villagers rely on oysters for their livelihood. It is vital to the local economy, cultural and tourism development.

After the reputation of Rushan oyster being more and more famous, the contradiction between the continuous expansion of breeding scale and the carrying capacity of sea areas gradually emerges.The industry now is under serious stress from over farming which not only affect the oyster quality and the income of oyster farmers, but also become a threat to the natural environment and tourism development. The villagers reclaimed the nearby hillside for disposal of aquaculture waste and drying fish nets. The activities damaged the mountain and shoreline, destroyed the ecological environment and affected the living environment, turning the industry stand on the opposite side with nature.

As the most important industry in Rushan, it needs to develop in a more sustainable way and construct a symbiotic relationship with nature before the irreparable crisis happens. This project aims to prevent the scenario of over-oystering and develop the innovative culture value of oysters. Trying to reposition the relationship between human and nature, transforming the stress to biophilia scenes.