Sea Change: Boston (work completed at Sasaki*)

*Work completed at Sasaki. Chris Merritt and Nina Chase (with Ruth Siegel and Carey Walker) led project initiation, research, exhibition design, exhibit implementation, and communications while employed as project Landscape Architects at Sasaki.

Project Description:

Sea Change: Boston is a research initiative on sea level rise that advocates for long-term coastal resiliency in the Greater Boston area. The Sea Change team, led by landscape architects, collaborated with experts in science, academia, advocacy, and policy-making to engage in preparedness planning at the building, city, and regional scales. Designers curated an exhibition to showcase this research, highlighting Boston's vulnerabilities and demonstrating design strategies for resilience. The exhibition shared the Sea Change research with the broader Boston community in an engaging and accessible format, rich with graphics and interactive media. Events and digital media associated with the exhibition catalyzed a conversation among designers, city officials, real estate leaders, and academics about a specific call to action: to develop a regional resiliency plan for the Greater Boston area. Outcomes of Sea Change have included authorship of Designing with Water with the Boston Harbor Association, advising for Boston Living with Water Competition, and implementation of Climate Ready Boston, Boston’s climate change vulnerability assessment.

Location: Boston, MA

Date: 2014

Team: Sasaki Associates, The Boston Harbor Association, the Boston Architectural College, the City of Boston

Awards:

2016 American Society of Landscape Architects Honor Award, Communications Category

2015 Boston Society of Landscape Architects Honor Award, Communications Category

2015 Annual AIA Emerging Professionals Exhibition