At this moment, two very different and unusual projects for addressing climate change are being explored in New York City. Plans are proceeding for a project by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group to create a storm barrier called The Dryline (BIG U), which addresses New York City’s vulnerability to coastal flooding with a protective ribbon in Southern Manhattan. The 12-kilometer-long infrastructural barrier incorporates public space into the high-water barrier, cleverly disguised as skate parks, public pools, urban farms, bird sanctuaries, and marshland trails.

Simultaneously, an effort is underway to educate the public about the realities of climate change through the creation of a new Climate Museum. The museum will be a cultural and educational institution dedicated to climate issues and solutions, as well as a public space to learn about climate change, share solutions, and commit to change. By employing the sciences, art, and design, the Climate Museum will inspire dialogue and innovation that address the challenges of climate change and catalyze broad community engagement. 

Speaker:
Kai-Uwe Bergmann, AIA, Partner, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group
Miranda Massie, Founder and Director, Climate Museum

Kai-Uwe Bergmann, AIA is a partner at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) who brings his expertise to proposals around the globe, including work in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Bergmann heads up BIG’s business development which currently has the office working in 20 different countries as well as overseeing BIG’s Communications. Registered as an architect in the USA (eight states), and Canada (one province), Bergmann most recently contributed to the resiliency plan BIG U to protect 10 miles of Manhattan’s coastline. He compliments his professional work through previous teaching assignments at University of Pennsylvania, University of Florida, IE University in Madrid, and his alma mater, the University of Virginia. Bergmann also sits on the Board of the Van Alen Institute, participates on numerous international juries and lectures globally on the works of BIG.

Miranda Massie is the Founder and Director of the Climate Museum. Previously, she was General Counsel and Legal Director of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), where she also served as Interim Executive Director. Before her time at NYLPI, she was a civil rights impact litigator, in which role she won professional honors including Fletcher Foundation and W.E.B. Dubois Institute Fellowships. Her board service has included the Executive and Finance Committees of the Center for Popular Democracy and the Governance Committee of a large Head Start organization serving the children of migrant farmworkers. She was a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School and a Mentor-in-Residence at Yale Law School. Massie holds a J.D. from New York University, an M.A. from Yale University, and B.A. from Cornell University.

Organized by:AIANY Committee on the Environment and Urban Green Council