On August 29th, 2010, Van Alen Institute and Environmental Defense Fund hosted a roundtable discussion focused on design responses to the environmental challenges faced by Coastal Cities in the 21st Century. At the US Pavilion of the 2010 Venice Biennale, leading experts in the fields of design, engineering, and science met to discuss the innovative ways they are addressing the needs of fragile deltas and the communities living in them. Van Alen Institute and Environmental Defense Fund have been working for the past year on a major design initiative in the Lower Mississippi River Delta. This case study was presented as a starting point for discussion of potential approaches to natural systems restoration, the integration of livable communities and productive landscapes, as well as infrastructure adaptability to the ongoing changes in the region. Presenters included: Stephane Asselin (AECOM ASIA) Maria Teresa Brotto (Consorzio Venezia Nuova) Stephen Cassell (ARO) Piet Dircke (ARCADIS) Paul Harrison (Environmental Defense Fund) Olympia Kazi (Van Alen Institute) Padraic Kelly (Buro Happold) Carlo Magnani (University IUAV of Venice) Denise Reed (University of New Orleans) Dirk Sijmons (H+N+S Landscape Architects) David Waggoner (Waggonner & Ball Architects) Bregje van Wesenbeeck (Deltares) David Wilkes (Ove Arup)
