Beyond Remnant

Abstract

Cities' safety issue is one of the most important issues facing humanity today, due to its high population density and highly centralized properties. Over the years, the frequency and intensity of tornadoes and other such disasters strike more and more cities. Because of this, the United States is paying more attentions to the disaster recovery process.

In this new era of unprecedented changes of industrialization and urbanization, the role of landscape architecture is now on the edge of transition. Landscape architects theoretically believed that they are not only the art of gardening but also the ‘art of survival’. However, there are few projects have been implemented or operated on the basis of “preventing” or working with post-disaster strategy. These formidable disasters are the greatest challenge and crude truth that landscape architects have to face realistically. It is the time for this profession to take the great opportunity to practically position itself to play the key role in the disaster recovery strategy.

Unlike the traditional post-disaster recovery process, Beyond Remnant seeks to practically explore a re-design strategy for the tornadoes stricken cities. Using landscape architecture as infrastructure to re-frame the city green system, which is hybridizing the city recreation system with evacuation system to proactively enhance the recovery.

With the inspiration of 2011 Tornado Super Outbreak, the design tests were applied in the Tuscaloosa and Birmingham area, which all deadly impacted five years ago. The first design test was a city park, which located near the Tuscaloosa city core and close to the Black Warrior Riverwalk. A set of preparation components was programmed in the city park re-design project in Tuscaloosa. The second design test is in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, which tornadoes frequently happen and devastate properties. In the test, a systematic landscape re-design project will be applied in the city range. Then zoom into the southwest neighborhood, which called Fairfield. The test frames the role of landscape architecture and explores the arrangement and management of city green system in emergency rescue stage and following stages. Aiming to explore both of the proactive approaches to disaster recovery and reactive arrangement.