SPRING 2016
11
GUNDERMANN SAYS:
“I suggest that the
Red Zone should
be the testing
ground for new
prototypes of settlements in fragile,
flood-prone land.”
systems of floods, earthquakes, and extreme weather-events would make the houses feasible even in
hazardous terrain such as coastal zones, where the
majority of Kiwis live.
Working in the real landscape of Christchurch’s Red
Zone and not in the artificial environment of Washington’s National Mall would make the prototypes
realistic real-live-centred exemplars. Once their
performance is optimised the new standards enter the
Building Code and become Best Practice.
Tackling climate change in a creative hands-on way
will leave behind the conventionalism of denial and
help getting prepared without unnecessary anxiety.
An array of self-sufficient, pioneering communities,
occupying the low-lying tidal marshlands may be not
only the model for Christchurch’s future, in which
green trumps grey and digital advancement amalgamates with ancient wisdom.
What a prospect, let’s get on with our future and
occupy the Red Zone!