Settling into the 2024 holiday season we are very much aware of our friends in the South who are still in response mode to this year’s hurricanes. We are grateful that friends and communities in which DPZ has worked in the region survived the storms safely. But damage to individual homes and community assets have been enormous and the recovery will be prolonged.
A number of our colleagues are directly addressing the recovery and rebuilding, much as DPZ has over the years after hurricanes (and an earthquake). Joe Minicozzi, Urban3, based in Asheville, is coordinating with area professionals on rebuilding the French Broad River basin area in a manner that is more resilient and considerate of climate impacts. He can be reached at joe@urbanthree.com or 828-301-8073.
The imperative for resiliency in design is bolstered by DPZ’s early encounters and experience with natural disasters. Ever more extreme weather events encourage assessment for lessons learned in places that were designed to avoid trouble.
At Seaside, the requirement for the more expensive galvanized nails in the construction of the first houses (at the time a huge discussion), was vindicated in the new community’s direct-hit hurricane survival performance compared to its neighbors. Alys Beach, also in the Florida Panhandle, took its predecessor’s positive experience with resilient building a step further by ascribing to the Fortified Home standard. In Texas, Beachtown, with buildings raised above flood level, has withstood coastal surge and hurricane winds.
In the North Carolina mountains, days of torrential rains over the steepest terrains created large debris flows that flooded many communities. In Black Mountain, the Village of Cheshire, a DPZ design, received damaging flooding, particularly on streets close to the forest. Near the center, a system of stepped open greens received the flowing mud, channeled it, and interrupted its flow enough to maintain in place the earth and its infrastructure of stone-clad retaining walls. Working on the recovery, developer Sikes Ragan has been reflecting on the importance of safeguarding the qualities and resources that make places like Cheshire a safe haven. When the storm arrived he was about to launch the next phase of Cheshire’s commercial center, its Boutique Village, which he now says will be implemented with an emphasis on resilience.
The destructive power of North Carolina’s riverine flooding is already influencing our work, as DPZ seeks to integrate in our designs a more complete understanding of the watersheds in which our existing and new community projects are located.
