Fragile Territories and the Hydrological Challenge

At a time when climate change is becoming an ever more tangible reality, and when the impact of human activity and its emissions on the disruption of our ecosystems no longer needs to be demonstrated, it is time to find strategies to adapt to these changes and mitigate their effects. The challenges are considerable in many fields: water, an essential factor in the development of life, is a recurring issue affecting populations all over the world. The World Meteorological Organization reminds us that only 0.5% of the water on Earth is usable by humans. The regular water shortages we now experience every year in many regions of the globe will affect more and more populations and their activities. At the same time, paradoxically, we will also have more and more water to manage: the accelerating melt of glaciers, causing sea levels to rise and radically transforming ways of life, is a real and growing threat to many territories. Today, despite decades of investment in hydraulic infrastructure designed to hold back water and protect human settlements, urban planning is no longer able to guarantee the safety of populations in critical areas. A paradigm shift therefore seems necessary to respond to this crisis. Should water be seen solely as a threat, or can it become an opportunity for the transformation of territories, of our activities and of our ways of life?

Lectures

From resistance to resilience: Dogaletto, a case study in the adaptation of lagoon territories to rising waters

Chiara LOMBARDI DELLAMONICA, architect, EPFL
Architect and urban planner, Urbanité(s), Geneva

The Venetian lagoon, like many other territories, is today threatened by human activity and climate change, notably by rising waters. In the face of this reality, it is essential to abandon an approach based entirely on resisting water and to learn, starting now, to adapt to this changing landscape. The project, centred on the village of Dogaletto in the south-west of the lagoon, proposes a strategy of programmatic anticipation. It involves implementing autonomous yet interconnected actions, both preventive and proactive, organised according to thresholds of rising water. The aim is to support the transition towards a progressively submerged territory, in which humans reconsider their current way of life by gradually reducing their footprint on the land and relinquishing part of it so as to give nature back its place. The project unfolds in three acts: the preservation of natural barriers in front of the mainland, the deconstruction of the most affected areas of the village, and the conversion of land use brought about by the advance of salt water. The project thus offers an approach to understanding and anticipating the adaptation of an ever-changing territory to the rhythm of the water.

When the glaciers are gone. Interventions for a new approach to water management in the Romanche valley

Mateo BOUTON, State-certified architect (DE), ENSA Versailles
Architect at DE-SO Architectes

Valentine FORESTIER, State-certified architect (DE), ENSA Versailles

Our work is the result of an in-depth process of research and proposals whose primary aim is to raise awareness of the crucial issues surrounding rainwater. It seeks to unsettle our established perceptions by offering a new perspective on how we approach this vital resource. Through the development of a library of architectonic devices, the project proposes different ways of harvesting rainwater to turn it into a precious resource. Five research projects are presented in this diploma project, testing the devices ( storing, infiltrating, filtering, releasing, distributing ) deployed as tools for making architecture. Every architectural element and every design decision is conceived with a view to creating spaces designed for the path of water. By combining technical expertise with a sensitive approach to the territory, they offer a glimpse of what the future of our relationship with rainwater might be. For if the glaciers no longer fulfil their role, who will ?

Respondents

Susanne STACHER
Architect and researcher,
Professor of Theories and Practices
of Architectural and Urban Design
ENSA Versailles

Cover image credits