The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 has highlighted the vulnerability of urban coastal areas to the effects of catastrophic storms and climate change. Coastal communities must adapt planning strategies to mitigate the risk posed by these natural hazards.

Structures of Coastal Resilience (SCR) matches the latest science with urban and landscape design to propose actionable solutions for buffering against storms. SCR is a Rockefeller Foundation-supported project dedicated to studying and proposing resilient designs for urban coastal environments in the North Atlantic region. SCR brings together a distinguished group of engineers, scientists, architects, landscape architects, and scholars to generate in-depth and informed proposals for four sites on the North Atlantic: Narragansett Bay RI, Jamaica Bay NY, Atlantic City NJ, and Norfolk VA. These areas feature ongoing projects by the US Army Corps of Engineers, demonstrate socioeconomic vulnerability, and are highly prone to flooding.

At the Center for Architecture, we will be displaying the research and design proposals relating to Jamaica Bay, NY and Atlantic City, NJ.

The four universities involved in this collaboration are Princeton University School of Architecture, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; Harvard University Graduate School of Design; City College Spitzer School of Architecture; and University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

Project Director: Guy Nordenson

Project Managers: Julia Chapman, Enrique Ramirez, Elizabeth Hodges

Climate and Storm Science Research Team: Ning Lin, Christopher Little, Talea Mayo, Michael Oppenheimer, James Smith

Flood Risk Mapping Team: Michael Tantala, Tess McNamara

University of Pennsylvania School of Design: Anuradha Mathur, Dilip da Cunha, Caitlin Squier-Roper, Jamee Kominsky, Graham Laird Prentice, Matthew J. Wiener

City College of New York Spitzer School of Architecture: Catherine Seavitt, AIA, Kjirsten Alexander, Danae Alessi, Eli Sands

Princeton University School of Architecture: Paul Lewis, AIA, Marc Tsurumaki, David J. Lewis, Anna Knoell, Kevin Hayes

Harvard University Graduate School of Design: Michael R. Van Valkenburgh, Rosetta S. Elkin, Dr. Peter Del Tredici, Michael Luegering, Marissa Angell, Manuel Cólon-Amador, Michalis Piroccas

Exhibition: Anna Knoell, AIA with Nerea Castell, AIA, LTL Architects and Julia Chapman, Guy Nordenson and Associates