Due to our love of the waterfront, almost half of the United States population now lives in coastal areas, including shores of estuaries. Unfortunately, this increasing concentration of people upsets the balance of ecosystems. My thesis project, Designing for the Waterfront - An Estuarine Research Reserve on Jones Point is about setting an example, setting a precedent for building on the waterfront. I have attempted to design an environmentally responsive and sensitive research center that will not only monitor and study the Potomac estuary, but will also serve as an example of how one should build on the estuary. / Master of Architecture