Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2014 - (Page 16)

Over the past century, the Earth's temperature has risen by more than a full degree Fahrenheit, raising sea levels by about eight inches. Even if we stopped burning all fossil fuels today, existing greenhouse gases would continue to warm the Earth for centuries. The result is a planet where ﬂooding will become more common and more destructive in coastal cities. Increasingly, architects and builders are anticipating the eﬀects of climate change-as well as the impact of natural disasters such as earthquakes-and taking action to minimize damage. Whether they're designing to counter eﬀects of climate change, maximize green space, or provide fresh food to urban areas, their ideas are helping to provide a blueprint for our future. An earthbag house under construction in Haiti eARtHBAgBuildiNg.Com FLOOD-RESISTANT CITIES ➜ in 2005, Hurricane katrina devastated New orleans. in 2012, Superstorm Sandy aﬀected every state along the east Coast, costing tens of billions of dollars. traditionally, strategies for protecting coastal cities and towns include installing waterabsorbing dune systems, ﬂood walls, dykes, and bulkheads; but dealing with our increasing vulnerability to ﬂooding means finding new approaches to the problem. in the Netherlands, where 26 percent of the country is below sea level and the population is concentrated along the waterfront, builders are designing homes that rise and fall with the tides. Architects elsewhere are following their lead. to accommodate variable water levels on lake Huron, for example, Canadian architects designed a ﬂoating house atop steel pontoons that allow it to rise and fall with the lake. in New orleans, architects with the make it Right Foundation also constructed a ﬂoating house, this one of polystyrene foam coated in reinforced concrete, providing a strong foundation that ﬂoats with rising ﬂoodwaters. 16 imagine may/Jun 2014 http://www.eARtHBAgBuildiNg.Com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2014

Big Picture
In My Own Words
Imagine, Design, Build
A Schematic of the Possible
My Life as an Architect
Blueprint for the Future
DesertSol: A Model of Sustainability
Across Space and Time
The Art of Summer
Selected Opportunities & Resources
A Digital Canvas
Rising to the Technovation Challenge
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Creative Minds Imagine
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2014