THE LOCATION: Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, NY

THE PROJECT TYPE: Ecology Research Center & Museum

THE PROJECT:

As sea levels rise and flood risk increases, conventional methods to respond to climate change that focus on avoidance, such as flood barriers or moving away, are increasingly proving to not work as efficiently anymore. These methods limit our relationship with the natural world to one of fear and separation. 

This project, hum+wa, proposes the idea of coexisting and cohabiting with water and nature instead of avoidance. This is achieved conceptually through humans cantilevering into water’s space and water doing the same into human space, suggesting a sense of equality and harmony between the two, and achieved physically through physical or visual connectors between humans and water and nature.  

Hum+wa aims to address urban-scale environmental challenges, focusing on flooding and climate resilience, by creating resilient public spaces that remain usable in extreme conditions. Beyond resilient spaces, it even turns flood-prone areas into active public spaces, fostering engagement between humans and nature. The project questions how present-day architecture urban systems and nature interact with each other. 

Hum+wa serves as an ecology research center and museum, located right by the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. This zone is susceptible to floods even today, and nearby residents recall certain streets being closed off due flooding during extreme storms. This flood risk is only going to increase as climate change gets worse, especially at this site because it used to be wetlands.