Adaptation to Sea Level Rise

The Hampton University Department of Architecture has established one of the first programs devoted to design solutions adapting coastal urban communities to the challenges posed by Sea Level Rise.

An emerging field of inquiry, a knowledge base in and completion of the requirements for a concentration in the field should provide an advantage to graduates seeking employment. Further, as the program is rooted in an active collaborative process with policy makers, area professionals, and engineering students from other state universities, potentially employers will recognize the special skills required for successful collaboration.

Since its inception, students engaged in the program have been active in community engagement processes, have been invited participants in an international design program, have been speakers before municipal and state officials, and at regional and national conferences.

The Department of Architecture has been named one of six programs nationally to form the National Resilience Initiative, formed by the Clinton Global Initiative and the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities program and overseen by the American Institute of Architects.

The concentration is an available addition to the Master of Architecture degree, requiring completion of two courses offered in the Department, one offered by the university’s Marine Science Program, and one offered online by Old Dominion University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.