The tower of LUMCON protrudes from the flat, coastal landscape in a figure resembling a watchman standing guard in anticipation of the water’s arrival. As the guardian of coastal Louisiana, it is the duty of LUMCON to stand tall in the rising water, a beacon for safety and hope in what seems a perilous and inevitable future of inundation. LUMCON’s wings must embrace the landscape to create zones of protection so the building can operate as both a place of prospect and refuge. It must assume the role of the biblical ark, a floating archive of a world soon to be forgotten in the hopes that someday it might exist again. The goal of the project will be to alter LUMCON’s building to become a shelter for not only its inhabitants, but a protective habitat for the other living organisms that surround it. In the water-filled future, LUMCON will stand as a repository for the vibrant coastal ecosystem - a vital resource for researchers and public awareness.