Resilient Design

Elizabeth River Project, a growing non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the Elizabeth River, has developed a brand-new, nationally-recognized “Resilience Lab” in the rapidly redeveloping North Colley neighborhood. The focus of the project is to demonstrate accessible, approachable methods of resilience and sustainability for the homeowner, developer, or small business owner.  Yuzhu Zheng Yuzhu Zheng Yuzhu Zheng Yuzhu Zheng The new building is located on an urban site, formerly a small marina and social club, situated between bustling Colley Avenue and Knitting Mill Creek. The river-facing site has been redeveloped with a living shoreline replacing the aging bulkhead,... More

The Floating Gardens is a storm surge protective infrastructural response in Vejle, Denmark that safeguards the city from rising sea levels, whilst providing a series of public gardens activating the city’s waterfront. The rising seawater level challenges Vejle’s existing harbor edges. By 2100 storms that could raise sea levels to elevations of up to 2.5 m will disable the entire port area and parts of downtown with flooding. Atelier Entropic’s vision proposes a landscaping solution made of inland and floating islands designed to secure the coast to an elevation of 3m. Since the project is completely conceived to be floating, the water edge condition, ideal for jumping in and out of the water, is maintained consistently,... More

On April 16, 2016, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck to the coastal provinces of Ecuador, leaving several families homeless and jobless. The project seeks to reactivate the tourism of the zone called Tarqui based on a comprehensive approach in which established different facilities within the territory vulnerable taking into account the resilience capacity. Johana Mendoza So the project is an intervention on an existing hotel that was affected for the earthquate in which the evacuation, diversity of uses and public spaces, are important design factors that can allow local people and tourists to improve the local economy in a new environment without lose the essence of the place. Johana Mendoza Johana Mendoza More

Despite the damage of Hurricane Harvey, the clients maintained a desire to call this neighborhood their home. They wanted to consider how the design of the house could respond to potential future storms, providing resilience while allowing for an outdoor lifestyle and connection to the landscape. The design mitigates the necessity of raising the house with this desire to connect to outdoor spaces. In response, the design provides for outdoor living spaces at the ground level while also recessing outdoor spaces within the volumes of home. Cesar Bejar Located within the 100-year flood plain, the design creates a prototype for residential construction in the areas adjacent to Houston's bayous. Rather than following the minimum 5' lift di... More

As with many other Small Island Developing States, Dominica is increasingly threatened by global climate changes and vulnerable to a wide variety of natural disasters including hurricanes, extreme rainfall, landslides, volcanic eruptions, seismic activity and tsunamis.  In September 2017, Hurricane Maria struck the island, destroying or damaging 85% of Dominica’s homes and leaving 50,000 of its 73,000 inhabitants homeless. The hurricane also caused significant damage in neighbouring countries. It was reported to be the worst natural disaster in the history of the Caribbean islands, with an estimated loss of US $1.37 billion dollars, 226% of Dominica’s GDP. More than 4,500 houses were destroyed and 20,000 partially damaged.... More