RAPHAEL DE LA FONTAINE My proposal for the travel fellowship focuses on engaging in the RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAND AND WATER, particularly along boundaries
where conditions continue to oscillate. Research on flood�responsive architecture is still in its infancy. This topic of design cannot be investigated merely at the scale of a building. Coordinated regional weirs, bypasses and flood planes, need to be further examined and incorporated into urban development. I am excited about the water responsive city of the future. I envision complete environments, in which controlled flood�waters positively engage residential communities, industrial zones and transportation routes. I look forward to this fellowship becoming a catalyst for my thesis. My primary focus throughout my entire academic and independent research has been centered around three parts: thorough precedent analysis, independent invention and maximum integration. I intend on investigating the topic of flooding as I consider it to be a key problem for future generations as well as a fertile ground for architectural innovation. The travels funded by KPF will allow me to obtain first hand experience with areas that are particularly affected by the natural pressures associated with sudden water-level rise and flooding. I am interested in examining their particular conditions, consequences and adaptations to the flooding phenomenon. In addition, this fellowship will allow me to meet with experts from other related disciplines to further investigate opportunities for necessary interdisciplinary collaboration. Recent discourse and governmental agency around this topic, particularly in the Netherlands, has led to a great range of architectural research. The Dutch governmentally funded Water Protection Plan has stimulated fascinating inventions ranging from floating houses to artificial water channels. Much of this development is reaffirming my thesis, signaling that the profession is finally transitioning into a much more integrated land-water attitude, abandoning the traditional barricade approaches. Water cannot be simply blocked out of our built environments anymore, it has to be engaged actively. Several underdeveloped cultures needed to adapt to this natural phenomenon early on, despite their lack of technological and economic resources available to the Western world. Cambodia, is home to areas of extreme flooding, especially along the Mekong River. The local population has successfully learned to adapt life and architecture around this recurring natural phenomenon with their remarkable stilt villages. During the flood seasons, these once raised villages do not only transform architecturally, but also create optimal conditions for access and circulation for a striving boat and fishing culture. Unfortunately, other countries are not as prepared and engaged in this topic. Incidents such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami at Phuket Thailand, the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami in Japan and the 2012 Hurricane Sandy in the East Coast of the United States, are recent examples in which entire shorelines have been wiped out by sudden flooding. Innovative research is the only way to find solutions, promote awareness and prevent future disasters from reoccuring. As a a fellow at KPF, I will be committed to fully take advantage of this unique opportunity to conduct and promote this proposed area of study. UTRECHT, NETHERLAND JULY 16-30
LONG ISLAND, NY JULY 1-15
PHUKET THAILAND JULY 16-30
TONLE SAP CAMBODIA AUG 1-25
RAPHAEL.DELAFONTAINE@YALE.EDU | 917.319.2337