Studio leaders: David Syn Chee Mah and Leire Asensio Villoria
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Students:
Laura Carillo Acosta, Kayla Dunn, Tianchen Gao, Runze Liang, Xiufeng Li, Bowen Ma, Kundi Shu, Su Sun, Sam Shaw, Ling Tian, Le Minh Thuc Truong, Martin Trivieri, Yuyao Wang, Peilin Wu, Zhisheng Yin
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Recent events have given many of us an ominous preview of the vicious disruptions that climate change will bring to our lives. Different studies have outlined the likelihood of Melbourne becoming subject to an even more volatile climate. Weather and resource emergencies are likely to become the new normal. More frequent and severe storms with projections for the consequences of sea level rise are expected to dramatically transform our environment.
Projections for the regular flooding of some of the city’s established neighborhoods and communities are potential scenarios for Melbourne’s future under climate change.
This studio will focus on addressing the looming urban risks related to water. This will be caused by its acute overabundance during what are projected to be increasingly severe storm events. Other risks also relate to its counterpoint, where Melbourne is expected to experience water scarcity.
Do the conventions and the preoccupations of contemporary architectural and urban design practice still hold water in light of this anticipated devastation? Established disciplinary knowledge and professional practice have been largely informed by the presumption of an environment with a stabilized climate. But given the different scenarios put forth by climate change, shouldn’t the design community acclimatize itself to a new set of contexts, concerns and perhaps opportunities? Is it responsible to follow conventions and established practice when these have been predicated on a very different reality?
The studio is part of the Arc-DR3 Initiative (The Architecture and Urban Design for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Initiative). This international initiative is coordinated by The International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) at Tohoku University in Japan, xLAB at The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Miraikan, The National Museum of Emerging Science and Technology of Japan