The growth of waterfront cities across the globe has exploded in the past century.

By 2017, as many as 100 million people were living in coastal areas. The rapid development of waterfront areas has catastrophic effects on coastal environments. Entire ecosystems, such as coral reefs, marshlands and river deltas, have been lost due to land infill and pollution.

The combined factors of rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and environmental degradation, leaves these cities more vulnerable than ever to storm surges and flash flooding. With the loss of marine life, the barren sea floor quickly accumulates silt and sediment, leaving behind a frictionless expanse with nothing remaining to slow the speed of water. Without these natural barriers, coastal cities are at imminent risk of inundation as a result of extreme weather. The chain of hurricanes that battered the Caribbean and east coast of the US in 2017 are a disturbing sign of what is to come.

We propose to construct an urban “reefscraper” to combat this complex issue with a three-pronged approach comprising of environmental restoration, energy generation/storage, and emergency response.

This competition entry was produced by LeeAnn Pallett Smith, Sarah Obtinalla, & Paul Szywacz.