Afloat 2.0 - Design Competition for water resilient habitats

Addressing climate change

Climate change is not a new concept to us. We have been witness to its impact and awareness for at least two decades. Reducing greenhouse gases, control waste, and air pollution, promoting sustainable living and planting more trees are some efforts that we as a community are taking to make a gradual change. But it seems that the scale is somehow imbalanced, as more people are contributing to our inevitability. Moreover, this is not only through minor negligence but encompasses a spectrum of capitalism, social and even basic human factors. 

While some climate change solutions might be working for today but they might prove insufficient for tomorrow. Effects from issues such as rising sea levels and increasing air pollution have already commenced in the form of flooding and health problems in cities. Core environmental problems involve a lot of problem-solving on a macro scale. So for now, can we begin to accommodate these changes and plan for the future through positive design solutions?

Rising sea levels

A growing number of communities both inland and coastal are going underwater. Sea-level rise, extreme weather and other climatic factors and human intervention are to blame for these issues.

Floods are natural disasters that have affected mankind since their inception, evidence of ancient underwater cities prove that even the best-designed cities are nothing in comparison to the force of nature. 

While nature always acts promptly to balance itself, human activities such as ocean pollution and land reclamation have put untimely pressure on the oceans and nature. We have made nature's clock move faster. And it has resulted in estimates that major world cities will sink by 2050.

It indicates that flooding will cause land subsidence as well as a major housing and infrastructure problem for thousands of communities living in coastal cities. 

Brief of the competition

Semarang is vulnerable to various hazards, stresses and shocks because of flooding. 

The issues of infrastructure and housing are also prevalent in the city due to overpopulation and create an unpredictable future for a living. While moving major capitals like Jakarta has been provided as an official solution, it has raised questions of deforestation and destruction of traditional villages at selected sites

Moreover, replanning and uprooting such packed cities can be a daunting task for people with low-income and permanent housing, so in such dire situations can we provide a solution that tackles existing issues in the region itself? By doing this, how can we improve/change the housing and infrastructure of a city? 

Brief: The challenge is to propose a mixed housing unit in the city of Semarang, providing innovative housing solutions to prevent flooding. 

PRIZES

Winner - $6000

Runner Up - $1400 x 6

People's Choice - $600 x 4

Honourable Mention - $600 x 12

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