Adaptation and adaptability : expectant design for resilience in coastal urbanity

Abstract

What is the nature of and possibility for urban resiliency through adaptation? Adaptation implies responsiveness to phenomena that are disruptive to a system's functioning; it is a willful evolution in response to changed circumstances. Adaptation occurs in cities when an event or fluctuation provokes a re-figuring towards new conditions or hazards. Considering current environmental and systemic changes in coastal post-industrial cities, this thesis explores adaptation and adaptability's form and function therein. Building on a history of adaptive design and natural hazards research, expectant design uses concepts of specificity, incrementality, participation, and phasing in design for urban adaptability. Expectant design employs flexible architectural and urbanistic strategies in response to climate change hazards and harbor redevelopment. Helsinki's new Kalasatama district is used as a testing ground for the development of adaptive design in coastal cities that are undergoing accelerating environmental change and demands for capacity. The design components of the adaptation armature illustrate a scheme that is incremental, flexible, expectant and public. Design arrives at an adaptation strategy that is implemented in a phased and open process, and that addresses the necessary adaptability involved in climate change adaptation strategies.