What We Should Do
I think we have to embrace the changes we are seeing with increased water levels and the dramatic alternating of rain and flooding. It’s not enough to simply believe we can wall-off or barricade our existing places from the coming tide.
In my presentation, I chronicled my design work from when I focused primarily on energy efficiency and net zero efforts for large building to how my attention became more and more on stormwater and the landscape. The pinnacle of my energy work was when I worked with NYU (New York University) to determine if their new Zipper Building could be net zero.
The biggest change for my work came when I worked with CCU (Coastal Carolina University) on oyster research. Over a period of 7 years, we undertook field research to determine the positive impact of oyster restoration throughout the Grand Strand area of South Carolina.
The bulk of my talk was about Rain Parks however, and how the concept for the parks grew from my 2011 book, Urban Green: Architecture for the Future.
Back to Rain Parks
Rain Parks need to do more than make the ecological world better. In fact, Rain Parks can’t solely focus on the needs of ecosystems.
I got lots of love from the attendees of the SCASLA about the talk. I had a great time meeting folks from around the state that work on these issues everyday. Because I got so much positive feedback, I thought it would make sense to post my presentation here so others could see it. It’s a big file, but full of images about all the things in this post. Some of the images aren’t mine, but the majority of them are.

scasla_prez.pdf |