Research
Tactical Extreme Scenario Trial [TEST]
Project Goals:
The Tactical Extreme Scenario Trial [TEST] investigates variations of designed responses to transformation amongst a retreating coastline. Can migration patterns be influenced by and participate with infrastructure design requirements through practices of proactive retreat? What are the costs and benefits of preserving urban and industrial settlement in a landscape that is becoming open water? How could investments be utilized to strategically safeguard optimal proportions of community and industry? TEST grounds visualizations, projections, and proposals in current and simulated datasets.
Project Team:
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PROJECT LEADERS
- Jori Erdman, AIA, LEED AP
- Elizabeth Williams Adjunct Professor of Architecture, Louisiana State University
- Patrick Michaels
Facing increasing risk from proximal exposure to rising seas and declining nonstructural protection, industry and community demographics shift alongside infrastructural and geomorphologic transformations. Existing populations are already beginning to reorganize along ridges of higher ground throughout the state. Each individual parish uniquely responds to land change and demographic shifts; however, many parishes maintain development practices that encroach upon dwindling wetlands and contribute to increasing risk. Options for the construction and maintenance of structural and nonstructural protection systems have been proposed and discussed; though, viability measurements must consider proportions of adjacent current and future industrial activity in tandem with relevant populations.