EB White, who was born on the 07.11.1899, said: “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” On o7.11.14, the Regional Recovery Working Group Workshop gathered at the Florham campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University to discuss the related trans-sectorial issues of infrastructure, transportation, and critical facilities. The enjoyment of this very special place made it even more interesting to hear speakers who, individually and collaboratively, are doing much to deal with the changes to the built environment necessitated by climate change and sea level rise. The workshop was put together by an engaged organizing committee led by Justin Mihalik, AIA, past president of AIA Newark & Suburban and principal of his own firm in Essex Falls, NJ, and Illya Azaroff, AIA, AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee co-chair and founder of +LAB architects in Brooklyn.
The venue for the conference was the bucolic 178-acre campus, the remnant of an 800-acre New Jersey estate dating back to the marriage in 1877 of Florence Adele Vanderbilt and Hamilton McKown Twombly. The name of their country place, Florham, was formed from the first letters of their names. Its landscape architecture was by Frederick Law Olmsted; the buildings were by McKim Mead & White.
But the conference was not about the history or context of the place, but designed to cut new ground in our understanding of the regional implications of infrastructure preparedness. As 2014 AIA New York Chapter President Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, said in opening the conference, issues of sea level change and storm surge are not limited to one municipality or one state – they are regional in nature and must be addressed and confronted together: “nature does not respect political boundaries.”
The conference welcome also included the two AIA State component leaders, Kurt Kalafsky, AIA, President, AIA New Jersey, and Ray Beeler, AIA, President, AIA New York State. Kalafsky noted that “sustainability has been the mainstay of our practices, and I equate resiliency to that effort.” Beeler said that “coastal communities are on the front lines, but inland areas are just as susceptible to damage.” He added: “Working together as a region we can be more effective than any of us can be individually.”
The conference overview was given by Azaroff, who noted that the purpose of the convocation which drew approximately 120 people, was “to galvanize architects and design professionals across the region to discuss the rules and circumstances that will define our future.” To set the framework he pointed out that “over 2.5 million people have lost their lives and some $4 trillion dollars of property has been lost in the last 30 years to natural disasters.” He thanked BASF for hosting the conference.
The conference conclusion ended with a quote from sportswriter Roger Angell, the stepson of Elwyn Brooks “Andy” White, who said at the funeral of the famously shy essayist: “If EB White could be here today, he wouldn’t be here.” Those who were not at the Regional Recovery Working Group Workshop missed something useful and important.
What follows below are abbreviated remarks of the conference speakers. Continue reading “Rhetorically Speaking: Regional Resilience”
