Study Architecture 
ProPEL 
Author(s): Luis Diego Quiros
Environmental challenges such as climate variations and sea level change amplify inherent conflicts between rigid conditions of urbanized environments and the constant evolution of social, cultural, and economic systems. Based on this premise, in Designing to Avoid Disaster: The Nature of Fracture-Critical Design, Thomas Fischer calls designers to re-think the way in which we conceptualize and build as he argues that in the last decades, human-designed systems have become so efficient and productive, that they are not able to adapt under unforeseen circumstances – “causing them to collapse back to a state of less efficiency, but greater diversity and resilience.”(1) The implications this argument has for architecture are twofold: on one had, it questions the traditional architectural product: a static built object which performs under stable conditions but is not good at adapting to change. On the other hand, it challenges the standardization of regulations and academic systems based on the premise that the architect’s professional objective is to give form to ever-lasting, passive and inactive structures. In fact, as it produces in-flux territories, sea-level change has been defined as the “ultimate planning challenge”.The Chesapeake Bay is one of the three most vulnerable regions to sea-level change in the country. Its sea-level rise rate doubles the global average and it looses more than 580 acres of land per year due to erosion and other processes. Cities and towns along the Bay are primary examples of sites in constant change. With this in mind, a joint Architecture and Landscape Architecture studio was organized and carried out in 2012 and 2013. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ A Sea Level Rise Response Strategy for the State of Maryland (2) provided a focus for the course, which looked at the role of the profession under such conditions. The approach included processes of outreach and community engagement and the understanding of technology, data, and previous research that resulted in a series of design projects, initiatives and policy suggestions for the communities of Cambridge, Vienna and North Beach, MD.This paper illustrates the importance and challenges of interdisciplinary studios that explore bottom-up approaches to urban projects related to territories of change. It describes the structure of the research venture and evaluates the outcomes as it seeks a redefinition of architectural and urban design and their current academic models(1) Fisher, Thomas. 2013. Designing to avoid disaster: the nature of fracture-critical design. New York : Routledge.(2) Johnson, Zoë Pfahl. 2000. A sea level rise response strategy for the state of Maryland. Annapolis, Md: Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources, Coastal Zone Management Division.
Volume Editors
Anthony Abbate, Francis Lyn & Rosemary Kennedy
ISBN
978-0-935502-90-9
