Code of Floods
In 2050, climate change has passed its tipping point, intensifying extreme weather and causing frequent urban flooding. Manchester is one of the cities which has fallen prey to these escalating impacts.
This thesis project reimagines East Manchester as a flood-resilient city, confronting the threats of climate-induced flooding and rapid urbanisation. Rather than viewing water as an adversary, the proposal embraces it as a dynamic force that can shape and enrich the urban environment. The design integrates architecture and landscape to create a multi-layered, adaptive fabric that can absorb, redirect, and live with water.
The project proposes a future-forward strategy that blends hard and soft systems. Elevated structures, adaptive thresholds, and permeable landscapes allow structures to respond to flooding. Public spaces double as water storage zones, with streets and parks transforming during floods while staying accessible and safe.
In line with resilience theory, the project eschews static solutions. Instead, it prioritises flexibility, learning, and regeneration over time. It accepts that disturbances like flooding are inevitable and uses them as opportunities to adapt and reconfigure the urban system.
Community needs are at the core of the proposal, ensuring that each intervention supports everyday life and minimises disruption. The design draws on real-world flood modelling, simulation, and spatial data, translating them into responsive planning strategies. Routes and access networks are restructured to remain functional during floods, while new public realms prioritise resilience, equity, and environmental performance.
Material choices and building forms are tuned for immediate floods and long-term climate adaptation, creating a responsive city rooted in its ecological and social context.
Through this integrated approach, the thesis presents a vision of East Manchester that does not simply survive flooding but evolves with it, offering a blueprint for future cities that are resilient, connected, inclusive, and attuned to the rhythms of water.
