By 2050, the world's population will reach 10 billion people, three quarters of whom will live near rivers and sea coasts, directly exposed to the threats of climate change and rising sea levels.
Faced with this reality, it is imperative to rethink our approaches to urban planning, development, and coastal management to ensure the safety and sustainability of coastal communities.
Today, we are facing an unprecedented acceleration in rising sea levels, which is a major challenge for our century. Water is rising by an average of 3.2m year. UN experts predict that the current level will rise by almost one meter by 2100. The effects of this accelerated rise are already visible in many countries and regions of the world. Catastrophic climatic events such as flooding are already the consequence of this phenomenon.
We must not give in to catastrophism but seize the opportunities for innovation and transformation that lie ahead in the coming decades, to adapt our living environments, cities and territories.
The challenges of coastal preservation and development are numerous: rising sea levels, flooding, pollution, erosion... We must preserve our heritage and invent new models for sustainable and resilient coastal habitats and cities, in harmony with the environment.
The challenge is to design scalable solutions adapted to local conditions, taking into account the environmental, social, cultural and economic dynamics of coastal zones. This implies a holistic approach integrating urban planning, landscaping and coastal engineering to strengthen infrastructure resilience while preserving nature.
Your project must address the challenges of coastal preservation and development, taking into account the population at risk, its demographic profile and its vulnerability.
It must propose innovative and locally adapted solutions, integrating urban, architectural and landscape dynamics, strengthening the resilience of infrastructures while respecting the environment (soil condition, biodiversity, coastline) and promoting biodiversity. The project must aim to optimize energy resources to ensure sustainable economic growth, while preserving harmony with nature and local realities.
This theme is aimed at any passionate multi-disciplinary individual or team, to imagine architectural systems, techniques, innovations, concepts, scientific models and engineering methods using modern and ancestral knowledge and technologies. The aim is to respect civilization, local identity, cultural, social and environmental values, in harmony with the way of life of local communities and populations, while reflecting our globalized world.