East Boston buffer : a transferable urban framework for adapting to sea rise

Abstract

Urban vulnerability to climate change is constantly increasing. Many coastal cities will need to begin sea rise mitigation efforts soon, and now is a critical time for architects to intervene in this process with good design that takes on the issue of sea rise in the city, not just as a problem but as an opportunity and catalyst for change. Data published in August 2012 revealed that the US East Coast is experiencing a rate of sea rise that is four times the global average. The city of Boston in particular has a high percentage of flood-prone areas due to the city's dramatic history of landmaking. Of all the neighborhoods comprising Boston, the often-overlooked neighborhood of East Boston is the most flood-prone. The project is site-specific in that it is sited in the context of East Boston, but the design methodology and synthesis of technologies serve as a prototype to be applied to any urban waterfront. This thesis project address the issue of sea rise in an urban context as a unique condition related to the construction a sustainable environment. In order to meet seemingly contradictory need for sea rise defense and capacity for future urban growth, the project reconsiders waterfront architecture as a new hybrid of architecture plus infrastructure as a means of building resilience and addressing scientific uncertainty. The project establishes a systematic approach to a layered buffer zone that mediates between the sea and the vulnerable urban fabric of East Boston. The buffer is conceived of as a framework for future development that balances energy collection, environmental enhancement, and social enrichment through the allocation of productive, inhabitable, and recreational spaces within a defensive landscape. Through careful orchestration and layering of multi-disciplinary sea rise mitigation tools, the designed framework projects a new future for the urban waterfront - one that promotes social as well as physical resilience and adaptability in an ever-changing coastal environment.