As the world copes with significant climate events, the field of Landscape Architecture is breaking out of its pigeonhole of gardens and grounds and assuming a role as convening discipline for urban problem-solving. Last term’s core studio Flux City, led by Chris Reed (HU ’91, professor of landscape architecture) took sea level rise as its focus, and students were charged with creating interventions to reverse the vulnerability of Jamaica Bay, NY.
Far from relying on barriers or walls, students aimed for “adaptability, resilience, and flexibility, ” which Reed believes may be a turning point for landscape architecture. ”Stronger storms and seasonal inundation might actually suggest new forms of city life,” he wrote in a blog post for Flux City.
The ideas won’t just stay in the studio. Reed has been presenting them all spring, including at CCNY’s conference Waterproofing New York.
Read more about the studio and other Harvard climate initiatives in “Ideas to Build On” in the Harvard Gazette.
Image shows rendering of “Living With Flux,” by Jing Guo and Meng Jia with instructor David Mah.