Date of Award
Spring 5-30-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master in Interior Architecture
Department
Interior Architecture
First Advisor
Markus Berger
Second Advisor
Julia Bernert
Third Advisor
Heinrich Hermann
Abstract
In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan struck the southern part of the Philippines with a five to six meter storm surge; in just three days it took more than 7,360 lives in one city alone, displaced four million citizens, and affected around 16 million Filipinos nationwide. Coastal resiliency in relation to climate change is a particularly urgent issue for city planners and government leaders in an archipelago of 7,641 islands, where 80% of the population dwells in coastal areas. This thesis aims to challenge the existing paradigm of coastal provincial architecture in the Philippines by proposing a more integrated evacuation center that adapts to sea level rise and climate calamities. The focus of the study will be a church in a small coastal town, as churches have historically provided physical sanctuary as much as symbolic salvation to Filipinos, the third biggest Catholic nation in the world. Through a methodical incorporation of resilience in architecture and communal gathering programming, the proposed intervention will showcase an innovative approach in landmark preservation by means of adaptation - how a social and cultural landmark can co-function as a resilient and human-scale evacuation area, replicable across the coastlines of the Philippines.
Recommended Citation
Sebastian, Maria Carla Victoria M., "Creating a safe haven : a study on coastal resilience in a time of climate change & sea-level rise in the Philippines" (2020). Masters Theses. 550.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/550
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