Fluid Futures: Alexandria

In July 2023, the world has registered the hottest month ever recorded on earth. Shortly after, the UN secretary declared the world to be entering a stage of “global boiling”. Scientists estimate that by 2100, a 3-degrees increase in temperature will result in rising sea levels and the delta region in Egypt will be among the most affected. Alexandria, the second biggest city in Egypt, will be threatened by this change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that Alexandria’s beaches would be submerged even with a 0.5-meter sea-level rise, while 8 million people would be displaced by flooding in Alexandria and the Nile Delta if no protective measures are taken. At the same time, Alexandria’s coastline has been witnessing dramatic changes over the last few years. Many private investments are encroaching on the beach, limiting the contact between city dwellers and the sea.

In this Design Studio, and building on the seminal work of Jem Bendell on Deep Adaptation we ask: how can we use water encroaching on the city as an opportunity instead of a threat? What forms of new urban typologies and prototypes can be developed and where? This Design Studio draws on an extensive research of the different urban layers of Alexandria, trying to allocate new opportunities arising from an inevitable reality facing the city and its inhabitants in the near future.