Sink or Swim: Designing for the Future of Small Island Developing States
Awarded Summa Cum Laude
The thesis allows for the investigation of topics of interest, provides the opportunity to work closely with a faculty thesis chair, and creates a culminating intellectual experience that produces both a meaningful project and an invaluable learning experience. The Honors project represents the climax of one’s college careers.
Small Island Developing States, or SIDS, produce less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions but are most at risk when facing the severe threat of rising sea levels. They are home to 65 million people, and around eighty percent of these populations face problems caused by coastal erosion. Many sea level rise design solutions do not fit into the SIDS remoteness, small land size, and economic vulnerability. Sink or Swim: Designing for the Future of SIDS presents a three-phase solution that fulfills the imitational framework SIDS experience by creating a “breathing breakwater” system, mangrove forest ecosystem-based adaption, and floating civic buildings. When applied to several sites, the design principles to protect against sea level rise will be an easily adaptable and life-saving technique for even the most remote islands.
Hand Model: Floating Civic Building
