Play with water. Research on Sea Level Rise

Abstract

During the months spent in Miami because of the study abroad, I started to ask myself how the city will be in the future and I began to wonder with my mind.

WHAT EARTH MIGHT LOOK LIKE IN 80 YEARS? We are only in 2020 and it is difficult to make such long-terms predictions but signs that our planet is irrevocably changing can be found everywhere. In the last year alone, ocean temperatures broke records, Antarctic melting reached unprecedented rates, and extreme weather swept through the US, Europe, and the Artic. Climate change and sea level rise have become common words in the past 20 years and international policies were taken to prevent catastrophic scenarios. Studies show that sea level is supposed to rise from 0.3 to 2.5 meters by the end of the century; it will shape world’s coastlines and have a huge impact on nearly 2.4 billion people who live within 100 kilometers of an oceanic coast.

HOW HUMAN KIND IS GOING TO COPE WITH THE SEA LEVEL RISE? A whole new world opens up endless possibilities and, since the future global progression of sea level rise is uncertain, the fundamental question about how high or strong coastal defense structures should be designed today is justified. Embracing water is key to preparing for the future. Adaptive pathways approaches are being promoted because they involve the planning of coastal protection measures adapted to the short-term consequences of ¬change, and not rigidly committed to an uncertain assessment scenario to the end of the century. In this way it may be possible to keep pace with the rising water.

WILL THERE BE MORE? As architects, it is crucial to give that extra touch to the design, that cherry on the top of the cake. For this reason, rather than simply adapt a building to the new necessities, it is important to keep in mind its relationship with the environment, in this case the water.