American Shore & Beach Preservation Association
Broadening Coastal Perspectives
New Orleans, Louisiana, Oct 14-16 2015
The Balance between Creativity and Feasibility in Design Competitions: The Role of Coastal
Engineers
Lauren Klonsky1, Frannie Bui1, Shaun O’Rourke2
Hydrokinetic canals, manmade protective deltas, floodable wharves, and amphibious underwater vehicles
are just some examples of the solutions proposed to increase coastal flood resilience as part of design
competitions across the country. Over the last several years, design competitions have gained popularity as
a way to solicit ideas, increase visibility, and present innovative strategies for community scale resilience.
The competitions strive to develop proposals which advance a community’s ability to not only bounce back,
but bounce forward in the face of natural and manmade disasters. A few recent examples such as The Living
with Water design competition in the Greater Boston area, Rebuild by Design launched by the US
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy, the
National Disaster Resilience Competition sponsored by HUD, and the Lower Mississippi River Delta
Competition, organized by Changing Course, illustrate this groundswell. Each competition varies based on
geographic extent, but the common theme is consistent in multi-disciplinary teams addressing critical
urban vulnerabilities and developing actionable and innovative solutions for diverse stakeholders.
As community based resilience planning has gained attention through initiatives such as the State of New
York New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program, USACE North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive
Study, and the Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resilient Cities efforts, the importance of developing synergies
across design, engineering, and advocacy has become clear. The apparent complexity of multi-disciplinary
work begs the question of how a coastal engineer can broaden the perspectives of design professionals and
be an active participant in these resilience efforts to advance collaboration across the industry.
This presentation will use a submission to the Boston Harbor Association’s Living with Water design
competition as a platform to discuss the role of coastal engineers in coastal resilience efforts. The
competition challenged participants to develop incremental, implementable, and economically and socially
sustainable solutions and strategies for the historic City of Boston, Massachusetts to adapt to climate
change and sea level rise at a building, neighborhood or infrastructure scale. The balance between creativity
and technical feasibility for this competition, and all design competitions of this nature is a particular
challenge. This presentation will highlight an innovative solution for Boston at an infrastructure scale,
lessons learned, and opportunities for improved collaboration and communication between coastal
engineers and other members of the design and planning team.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
CDM Smith, 75 State Street, Suite 701, Boston, MA 02109, (617) 452-6000
2
The Trust for Public Land, 10 Milk Street, Suite 810, Boston, MA 02108, (617) 367-6200
Ms. Klonsky, P.E., is a Water Resources / Coastal Engineer at CDM Smith with specialization in the areas of coastal processes
and engineering. She holds a Coastal Engineering Certificate from Old Dominion University, an M.S. in the field of
Environmental Engineering from Tufts University, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Vermont.
Ms. Bui, P.E., is a Water Resources/Coastal Engineer at CDM Smith in Boston, Massachusetts. She received her B.S. and M.S. in
Civil Engineering from Drexel University in 2007 and a Coastal Engineering Certificate from Old Dominion University in 2012.
Mr. O'Rourke is the Director of Green Infrastructure at the Trust for Public Land (TPL). Shaun served as the Director of
Sustainable Design at the Boston Architectural College where he remains a faculty member. He holds a MLA from SUNY College
of Environmental Science and Forestry and a B.S from the University of Vermont.
American Shore & Beach Preservation Association
Broadening Coastal Perspectives
New Orleans, Louisiana, Oct 14-16 2015
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
CDM Smith, 75 State Street, Suite 701, Boston, MA 02109, (617) 452-6000
2
The Trust for Public Land, 10 Milk Street, Suite 810, Boston, MA 02108, (617) 367-6200
Ms. Klonsky, P.E., is a Water Resources / Coastal Engineer at CDM Smith with specialization in the areas of coastal processes
and engineering. She holds a Coastal Engineering Certificate from Old Dominion University, an M.S. in the field of
Environmental Engineering from Tufts University, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Vermont.
Ms. Bui, P.E., is a Water Resources/Coastal Engineer at CDM Smith in Boston, Massachusetts. She received her B.S. and M.S. in
Civil Engineering from Drexel University in 2007 and a Coastal Engineering Certificate from Old Dominion University in 2012.
Mr. O'Rourke is the Director of Green Infrastructure at the Trust for Public Land (TPL). Shaun served as the Director of
Sustainable Design at the Boston Architectural College where he remains a faculty member. He holds a MLA from SUNY College
of Environmental Science and Forestry and a B.S from the University of Vermont.