Green/gray infrastructure: redefining cities

Since 1980, the U.S. has sustained 332 weather and climate disasters. The total damages/costs from these disasters surpass $2.2 trillion. These events include tropical cyclones and hurricanes, which bring extreme winds, rain, storm surge, and waves to coastal communities with often devastating impacts. Considering that close to 30% of the total U.S. population lives near the coast, identifying sustainable solutions against such hazards represents a critical societal need. The hard solutions that are often utilized to protect coastal communities against high-intensity storms and flooding typically do not provide a hospitable environment for biodiversity. ""Living Shorelines"" are often considered as the ideal ecofriendly protection barrier. However, they may not be applicable in areas with small footprint availability and/or harsh wave conditions and high surges. We thus seek improvements over traditional systems in both ecological and engineering performance through novel sustainable solutions. SEAHIVE™ is an engineered marine and estuarine protection system composed of perforated hexagonal prismatic elements. Perforations on the side faces of the elements provide passage for water flow under surging or breaking waves dissipating the wave energy within the elements. In the system configuration, the perforations form interconnected channels providing habitat and protection for marine life. Ecological engineering studies have shown that adding structural complexity to the designs of protective systems improves their biocompatibility. Biocompatibility is also promoted through surface roughness and material selection i.e. a biophilic concrete mixture and non-corrosive reinforcement. SEAHIVE™ research and development has been based on morphological considerations and physical tests in the University of Miami SUrge STructure Atmosphere INteraction (SUSTAIN) Facility, auxiliary material biocompatibility studies, as well as a series of pilot projects/installations. Architecture, Cities, Climate Change, Ecology, Engineering, Sustainability