Archinect published a post that narrates a recent project of The University of California, Los Angeles Department of Architecture and Urban Design’s faculty that looks to solve challenges between urban conditions and land development. Climate change is challenging architectures, designers and urban planners to create land use design strategies that make possible the effective coexistence of humans and nature.
The research looks to understand and find new ways to balance human activity, community and ecological systems in California. One key point to their investigation is understanding that in order to get to this balance there are other factors to take into account such as prevention and resilience since fires in this area are stepping into human activity territory:
"The unique interface between nature and the city offers an opportunity to design a new ecology of coexistence, a new interface of wilderness and city, an adaptive framework for human and other species. This deeply influences how we think architects, urban designers, and planners should approach new models of resilience and community." Yet when it comes to fire prevention and resiliency, the duo share, "fire becomes a disaster when human activity steps into its territory."
Forest, desert, ocean, wilderness sits very close to every human environment in California. The interaction with wild critters is daily, so it is necessary that architects, urban planners and urban designers should approach new models of practicing resilient urban design and creating community. The interface between nature and the city offers the possibility of creating a new ecology of coexistence, and it offers the opportunity to challenge the traditional way of thinking about the interaction between humans, community and other species as well as nature.
“In California, indoor-outdoor living is a collective birthright. We see that in the models for work and living California architects continually refine – from the media/tech campus to the multi-courtyard home. That inherent connection to the land is our source of inspiration for a regenerative approach to climate change-related threats. Simply put, the land is the medium we’ve used to respond to the increasing wildfires in California as a result of climate change. Land as in designed landforms, landscape urbanism, landscape ecology, and land management drive the designs to envision an urban condition better than the pre-disaster city”.
To read more about the article: https://archinect.com/features/article/150272757/firecity-fireland-new-models-of-resilience-and-community-with-ucla-s-hitoshi-abe-and-jeffrey-inaba-s-research-studios
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