Lake Sevan in Armenia has been subject to a complex chain of environmental effects stemming from Soviet era attempts to generate hydroelectricity from it’s waters and resulting in a 20 meter drop in levels and subsequent eutrophication. As the shoreline expanded, the Sevanavank Monastery, located on an island in the lake became tethered to the shore by a newly exposed peninsula. Anticipating the restoration of the original water levels, the project comprises a sequence of floating artificial wetlands that will provide a habitat for the lake’s endangered trout. As the water levels rise, the wetland system will transform into a bridge that relinks the isolated monastery to the mainland.
