Rhizolith Island: Floating Concrete Breakwater for Mangrove Restoration

The project was developed in collaboration between Syracuse University Assistant Professors Roger Hubeli and Julie Larsen, and CEMEX GLOBAL R&D. Rhizolith Island is a floating, resilient coastal infrastructure that revitalizes depleting mangrove forests along vulnerable shorelines with ongoing flooding. The modular form of the elements uses advanced concrete technology to strengthen ecological performance of the island as a breakwater and reinforces appreciation of ecologies that surround and protect communities. The project is a collaboration between architects, material scientists, coastal engineers, the local government, and NGOs. Rhizolith Island aims to create a protective barrier for new mangroves to grow and thrive in deep water shorelines. As a breakwater, a collection of islands would attenuate waves through the aggregation of dozens of two-meter concrete elements. Rhizolith Island is designed for failure. The concrete elements are designed to intentionally fail and break apart over time to revert the site back to a more ‘natural’ state where mangroves become the prominent flood protection once again.

Volume Editors
Amir Ameri & Rebecca O'Neal Dagg

ISBN
978-1-944214-14-2