Saturday, December 18, 2010

The First Time I Designed for Climate Change

I suppose it had to happen sooner or later.

I mean, I'm a place-maker, and the nature of places IS changing faster and faster these days. I guess we can design for that.

But it DID happen a few weeks ago, to me, for the first time:

Just now we're envisioning the next development in the evolution of the Pontoon Docks, part of the Royal Docks in East London.

Came up with some good beginning ideas for the regeneration of the place:
Then Haewon asked me whether we would design it for before AND after - Climate Change that is.
Now, the locks into the Royal Docks are upriver of the Thames Barrier (a sea gate that can close if the tide is running too high up the river), so we're better off than some who are below the barrier - like Central London, Greenwich and Canary Wharf.


But, still and all, it seems there are changes afoot in the places where water and land meet, and this is one of them.

And it seems we're going to have to envision this place we're making, both before and after.

This is a first for me.

And how strange is that??

You?  How are you  adapting to the Earth Changes that accompany Climate Change??

Know any good examples of folk who have adapted their futures to this eventuality??

Any ideas how to make it good?

1 comment:

  1. We live on top of a hill, but (ironically) next to a large pond. We almost got flooded out last year in the dregs of the hurricane. We also had an earthquake, a tornado, and an early blizzard -- all in one year. What we are getting is not mere Warming, it truly is Weirding. Hard to know how to prepare our places for diverse climate changes all at once, but we will definitely fare better with thoughtful design than without.

    ReplyDelete

I look forward to your comments.

 
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