Boston like many other American cities is surrounded by water, so it’s no surprise it’s at risk for flooding with rising sea levels. According to the Boston Harbor Association, climate change could cause the sea level to rise up to 2.5 feet by 2050.
To prepare the city for climate change, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh initiated a plan to invite design solutions that envision a “beautiful, vibrant, and resilient Boston that is prepared for end-of-the century climate conditions and rising sea levels,” according to the Mayor’s office.
Boston’s Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space Austin Blackmon tells WGBH Morning Edition Producer Marilyn Schairer that the Mayor wants the city to be engaged and come up with innovative ideas as it relates to climate action and climate preparedness. Blackmon says, “the design competition “Living with Water” assures that we’re engaging the private sector and community partners to come up with innovative concepts to be more prepared and resilient with climate change."
The “Living With Water “ Challenge
The "Living with Water" international design competition, began in October 2014, it included 50 innovative teams composed of more than 340 individuals from eight different countries, who were challenged to tackle the issue of rising sea levels in Boston through architectural designs.
The Competition Goal
Each team needed to solve multiple challenges, including minimizing damage from chronic episodic coastal flooding in three different sits: a building, a neighborhood, and a significant piece of city infrastructure.
Competition Winners Selected:
On Monday, June 9, 2015 the competition came to a conclusion when three winners and one honorable mention were announced, with each team selected receiving a $13,000 prize, and the honorable mention team receiving $5,000.
More than $50,000 was awarded to the 4 teams– a prize that doesn’t cover the costs to create the proposals. However, Boston Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space– Austin Blackmon– said the competition still had a lot to offer its participants, “It really forces them to think and be really creative in innovative ways– to really push the boundaries.”
Winners Per Site:
Site 1:Building: The Prince Building
Winner: Prince Building Piers– led by Stephanie Goldberg AIA and Mark Reed AIA
With this proposal, rather than trying to prevent seawater from entering the city, this design welcomes the water and repurposes the outer streetscapes to a new urban seashore that is a focus of recreation, ecological reclaimation, and new cultural experiences.
Site 2: Neighborhood –The 100 Acres section of Fort Point Channel
Winner: “ReDeBOSTON 2100” – led by Architerra, Boston
The team design would raise the entire base and infrastructure of the 100-acre neighborhood by approximately twelve feet, matching the raised elevation of historic Summer Street and creating resilient development area to serve as a model urban waterfront district for the 21st an 22nd centuries.
Site 3: Infrastructure: -Morrissey Boulevard
Winner: Total Resilient Approach, led by Thetis S.p.A., Venice.
The plan centered on the idea of raising Morrissey Boulevard as well as remodeling its neighboring connections. In doing this, the design allows redevelopment to advance Columbia Point through sustainable urban landscaping and habitat restoration.
Honorable Mention: Resilient Linkages, which was led by NBBJ, Boston
The proposal takes on Fort Point– an area subject to flooding with the rising sea level– and raises the street grid. This elevation would require developers to integrate supportive infrastructure for the rising sea level.
The City of Boston, the Boston Harbor Association, Boston Redevelopment Authority, and the Boston Society of Architects organized the competition. Blackmon says, "even though the contest was a theoretical exercise, these ideas will not be thrown away and will be useful to future plans in combating the effects of climate change in Boston. We can integrate these ideas into our citywide master planning events including Imagine Boston 2030 that’s being kicked-off now.”
The projects are on display for the public at the Boston Society of Architects Space.
To listen to the entire interview with Austin Blackmon, Boston's Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space and WGBH's Marilyn Schairer click on the audio link above.
