Green/gray infrastructure: redefining cities | Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos | TEDxBoston

Since 1980, the U.S. has sustained 332 weather and climate disasters. The total damages/costs from these disasters surpass $2.2 trillion. These events include tropical cyclones and hurricanes, which bring extreme winds, rain, storm surge, and waves to coastal communities with often devastating impacts. Considering that close to 30% of the total U.S. population lives near the coast, identifying sustainable solutions against such hazards represents a critical societal need. The hard solutions that are often utilized to protect coastal communities against high-intensity storms and flooding typically do not provide a hospitable environment for biodiversity. ""Living Shorelines"" are often considered as the ideal ecofriendly protection barrier. However, they may not be applicable in areas with small footprint availability and/or harsh wave conditions and high surges. We thus seek improvements over traditional systems in both ecological and engineering performance through novel sustainable solutions. SEAHIVE™ is an engineered marine and estuarine protection system composed of perforated hexagonal prismatic elements. Perforations on the side faces of the elements provide passage for water flow under surging or breaking waves dissipating the wave energy within the elements. In the system configuration, the perforations form interconnected channels providing habitat and protection for marine life. Ecological engineering studies have shown that adding structural complexity to the designs of protective systems improves their biocompatibility. Biocompatibility is also promoted through surface roughness and material selection i.e. a biophilic concrete mixture and non-corrosive reinforcement. SEAHIVE™ research and development has been based on morphological considerations and physical tests in the University of Miami SUrge STructure Atmosphere INteraction (SUSTAIN) Facility, auxiliary material biocompatibility studies, as well as a series of pilot projects/installations. Architecture, Cities, Climate Change, Ecology, Engineering, Sustainability Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at the University of Miami with secondary appointments at the School of Architecture and the Department of Ocean Sciences. He is an expert in structural morphology investigating the relationship between a structure’s form, function, material and forces with applications spanning from tensegrity and building systems to marine and coastal structures. He is currently focusing on merging engineering and ecology to develop novel solutions for green/gray infrastructure. He is also the lead engineer behind SEAHIVE™, an efficient and sustainable revetment system.
Landolf holds a BS, MS and PhD from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. Prior to joining the University of Miami, he was at Princeton University as a member of the Form-Finding Lab. He is a STEAM enthusiast supporting various artistic and educational projects. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx