Tides Of Change
The thesis project ‘Tides of Change’ is set in the context of a world where environmental targets remain completely unattained, as the global temperature increase from the pre-industrial era exceeds the 1.5oC tipping point, setting in motion the rapid, irreversible acceleration of ice caps melting worldwide. This thesis acts as a manifesto, highlighting the magnitude of the climate crisis and its imminent threats. Using Manchester, UK, as a case study set in a projected future scenario in 2035, this thesis investigates the impending catastrophe of a 60-meter sea-level rise, resulting from a rapid 10-degree temperature increase in the global average.
The research focuses on addressing the pressing challenges associated with population displacement, infrastructure damage, and other unforeseen urban disruptions. The main thesis problem is the adaptation of a city to new unique field conditions, interfacing the interaction between the disrupted fields (conceived as a multi-planar approach), facilitating logistics, and resolving spatial adjacencies.
By utilising computational design techniques, a computational tool was developed to aid the approach in developing several iterations for the new urban layout of Manchester, simulating its natural urban growth. Through the application of this tool, all iterations could be tested against an array of performance metrics, with the most optimal compromise between all criteria and all the stakeholders ambitions being chosen to be worked up and refined in more detail.
