2015 Landscape Architecture Australia Student Prize: University of Melbourne

Project statement

Anthropogenic global warming has a varied and unpredictable impact, but one thing is now virtually certain: elevating ocean temperatures are fuelling sea level rise and intensifying storm activity. There is a growing push for coastal cities to respond to storm surge with hard infrastructure, which sprawls along its edges and has a detrimental impact on the environment of the intertidal zone. This coastal armouring is underpinned by the belief that it will be possible to hold out the sea indefinitely, and enters into a battle to keep nature out.

San Francisco is an example of an estuarine city that is considering an escalation of coastal defences. Withdraw – Diffuse – Reclaim explores the potential for urban coastal adaptation in response to climate change; adaptation that seeks to preserve the dynamism of urbanized estuarine landscapes. The project proposes a multi-strategy “defensive toolkit” to mitigate coastal vulnerability, adapt existing urban infrastructure and enhance ecological connections.

Withdraw: The initial proactive climate change responsive strategy for introducing floodable urban zones along the city’s northern waterfront.

Diffuse: A defensive manoeuvre to attenuate the power of storm surges and tidal flux. This includes increasing the soft surface area of the shoreline and providing alternative modes of surge resistance.

Reclaim: A regenerative strategy for continuing occupation of the coastal zone with flood- and earthquake-resilient forms of “liquid urbanism” – forms directed by the flow of water.