• Building a knowledge base for sustainable urban habitation

    The Center of Territorial Intelligence in Biodiversity in Curridabat, Costa Rica, is a model for studying climate change on an urban environment. The project won a 2020 CNU Charter Award in the Emerging Projects category for Tandem Arquitectura.
    The Center of Territorial Intelligence in Biodiversity (CITBIO) is building a knowledge base on urban landscape performance that sets a model for communities in this era of climate change. The center consists of simple, well-designed buildings that are easy to construct, low in maintenance,...Read more

  • Panama City adopts recovery plan in wake of hurricane

    The Florida Panhandle city survived Category 5 Michael with most of the downtown intact—the plan looks to a more resilient future in the face of potential sea level rise.
    Panama City, Florida, approved a strategic plan for downtown recovery and resilience in early October, a year after Hurricane Michael tore through the city as a Category 5 hurricane. Thousands of buildings in the city of 37,000 people suffered roof and other damage. Panama City is a waterfront town...Read more

  • Hard lessons of disaster and recovery

    In the wake of Hurricane Dorian, which destroyed much that was good in The Bahamas, it is worth reviewing the lessons from recent natural disasters on how to build to last and recover local culture and economies.
    I spent most of my life inland before moving to Miami Beach in 2003. Where I grew up, the main disaster threats were tornadoes, which are exceptionally violent, sudden, and focused. Within 60 seconds of the warning being issued for the Airport Road tornado November 15, 1989, close to a dozen people...Read more

  • The long road home for The Bahamas

    If The Bahamas rebuilds using the wisdom hard-earned on these islands over time, then the disaster of Dorian can result in a renewal of the places and buildings that have made The Bahamas world-famous, and have long driven the economy.
    It is heartbreaking to see the suffering and devastation in The Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian, which struck these islands in early September, and thoughts of those lonely rebuilding years ahead are even harder to bear for all of us who love The Bahamas. It’ll be lonely because after the first...Read more