2100: a sea odyssey

A new coastal scenario after sea level rise

Francesca Porro, Alessandra Paparcone, Monica Moschini

Supervisor: prof. Matteo Umberto Poli

Co-supervisor: prof. Sara Gangemi

MSc in Architecture – Built Environment – Interiors

Politecnico di Milano, School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering

AY 2018/2019

According to an IPCC forecast, in 2100, the sea level will rise of + 1m because of climate change acceleration. 2100: a sea odyssey deals with climate change at the time of the Anthropocene. Thinking to a project that deals with climate change consequences and – in particular – about what sea level rise means in ravennate territory, does not mean only designing solutions to contrast risks, but above all it means proposing a new way of looking, of observing a world crossing a specific age. Anthropocene is the era in which the action of man has been -and it will keep being for many millennia- the main geological force. It is necessary to recognize that man’s instinct for survival has made possible enormous transformations, perhaps even greater than those caused by catastrophic events – the one destructive to the natural landscapes that host them, the others towards the work of man. Starting from this point of view – although we understand the drastic nature of the transformations taking place – we have not abandoned an optimistic attitude during our research, so we imagine a reasonable non-apocalyptic scenario. We will not speak about extinction, but we will think transformations and – consequently – evolution. Through 2100: a sea odyssey we try to highlight red threads within the complicated plot in which the contemporary debate on climate change develops. This book encloses and synthesizes all the theoretical and design tools that we select in our project proposal as an answer to the analyzed territory.