Resiliency through Anthropocene Infrastructure

Kai-Uwe Bergmann, AIA Partner BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, UF Global Lab + Ivan Smith Distinguished Visiting Professor

Nancy M. Clark, Program Director Global Lab, Co-Founder Consortium for Hydrogenerated Urbanism,
Associate Professor, University of Florida School of Architecture

Our research fostered projects that looked at current systems on a city scale and improving their resiliency through design for the social benefit of their communities. Students were partnered into teams of two and worked collaboratively for the entire semester.

By focusing on several areas within the city – the Miami airport, Miami River, Miami Beach, Miami’s canal system – the city’s current drainage infrastructure as well as approved sites of their choosing, we prepared a multi layered approach to Miami’s future resilient infrastructure. We walked through key infrastructure topic areas – energy, water, transportation, natural resources and ecology – and frame the discussion around the key issues to consider and evaluate in planning for a sustainable and resilient infrastructure. Through this research, each team developed a tool-kit of approaches and strategies to approach and address projects at planning, infrastructure, and architectural scales.