In these times of climate change the word “flood” has negative connotations. What if the connotation were positive instead? Estuary Village is a proposal for a Bay Area neighborhood in San Leandro California that is both depressed topographically as well as economically. This site was dealt a further blow as it was designated a FEMA flood zone further affecting property values. This project was designed by Junpei Asai, Stan Kim, Cynthia Miao, and Linda Tian. It won the top prize in the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design “Circus” competition in 2016.
This section model shows how the system works with regards to where the water table is and how it influences the floating and floodable housing structures. One can see there are many places where people can interact safely with the changing water conditions. This is important as a way to engage residents in raising awareness of climate issues. It is hoped that with further reminders of how one plays a part in such a system that better choices can be made locally as well as globally.
The diagram below shows the fluctuating flooding that can happen over a year and how the water changes the site without damaging it
Estuary Village
