Goodbye Bad Water Quality, Hello Floating Wetlands

Design Overview

At first glance, the floating wetlands in Dow’s Lake might appear as a series of clean, repeating hexagons—modular units arranged with geometric precision. But this layout isn’t just about aesthetics or efficiency. It’s a spatial strategy that reflects a broader ecological and design vision: one that values adaptability, resilience, and openness.

The wetlands are clustered in loose groupings across the lake, each cluster composed of identical hexagonal cells that interlock to form larger floating islands. These groupings aren’t rigid or symmetrical. Instead, they follow a flexible layout that responds to the lake’s currents, shoreline conditions, and seasonal shifts. The clusters can expand or contract, reconfigure, or even be relocated—an intentional nod to the idea that ecological infrastructure should evolve with its environment, not resist it.

Each individual module is designed with this same ethos in mind. The hexagonal shape—borrowed from nature’s own logic in honeycombs—maximizes surface area while using less perimeter material. That means more space for planting and root growth, and less structural waste. Beneath the surface, flexible connectors link each unit, allowing the entire system to move with the water rather than against it. This is not a static installation. It’s a living, floating network.

Together, the clusters and their components offer more than just habitat or water filtration. They propose a different way of thinking about urban ecological design—one that’s modular but not mechanical, open-source but site-specific. In Dow’s Lake, the floating wetlands don’t just sit on the water. They shift with it. They invite interaction, remixing, and reuse. And in doing so, they make space for design that’s as dynamic as the ecosystems it hopes to support.