Coastal Resilience Reimagined — Yangtong Zhao

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My central motivation to study and practice in architecture is rooted in my philosophical studies. This discipline has cultivated in me a habit of close observation and critical reflection, particularly around a question that continues to shape my work: how does space shape relationship between environment and human identity, and how should architects exercise this power with care and responsibility?

Email: yzhao182@syr.edu
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Coastal Resilience Reimagined

Summer 2025 | Designing Resilience Global Competition 2025
Instructor: Abingo Wu | abingo.wu@gmail.com
Syracuse University Team Members: Amanda Zhang, ZIlin Jing Ayrton “A.J.” Laucks, Juinkye “Kyle” Chiang

Index

“Where land meets sea, architecture must learn to negotiate rather than conquer, adapting with the tides of change.”

Historically, Changzhou Island was home to the Danmin, a marginalized waterborne community whose livelihood and culture were deeply tied to the rivers of the Pearl Delta. Their floating lifestyle, shaped by resourcefulness and resilience, was once dismissed and displaced in the name of modernization. Today, as the island faces the challenge of inundation, we reframe the Danmin tradition not as a relic, but as a foundation for future living. Our design carries forward their spatial and cultural legacy—preserving housing typologies like “three rooms and two corridors”, celebrating floating food and customs, and reimagining community structures in modular, adaptive forms.

At the city scale, the proposal bridges the current divide between compact residential zones and loosely distributed agricultural land. Instead of serving tourists alone, our planning strategy prioritizes the daily life of residents. We aim to reactivate forgotten fields, creating synergy between farming and living, anchored by educational, ecological, and productive infrastructure. The university plays a critical role as an on-site research institution, both funding and experimenting with sustainable redevelopment. Rather than isolating Changzhou as a “slow island” at the periphery of urban Guangzhou, we envision it as a resilient, productive island that retains talent, supports work, and fosters circular economies. At the site scale, we build on existing topography and infrastructure to create a modular, scalable system. The preserved waterfront belt—with shipbuilding facilities and dormitories—acts as a levee, defining the new urban edge. The internal road network, led by a main spine from the port and branching into farm roads, forms the development’s backbone. Along it, we attach repeatable sections with floating homes, collective infrastructure, and fixed community buildings that anchor shared services and connect water-based units to land. At the architectural scale, our buildings fall into three categories: floating homes for individual and family living, collective floating infrastructures for shared economic and social functions, and permanent community gates that stabilize and support each water-based cluster. Together, they form a flexible, decentralized, and inclusive system. Each community cluster is designed to accommodate a unique demographic: multi-generational families, researchers, migrant workers, or eco-tourists.

Flood Level: 0m

Flood Level: +1.5m

Flood Level: +3m

Flood Level: +4m

To support a resilient and community-centered future on Changzhou Island, our proposal introduces a network of Floating Collective Programs—modular, mobile hubs that serve essential daily functions while enhancing social, ecological, and economic life. Each floating unit is specialized—ranging from waste management and water purification to aquaponic farming, markets, and mobile classrooms—and can dock at community gates or navigate local canals. Waste hubs enable sorting and recycling as part of a circular economy; solar-powered water stations provide clean, off-grid drinking water; floating farms combine fish and vegetable production while restoring river ecology; and adaptable market and play modules foster economic exchange, education, and joy. Built with the same modular, floating system as the housing, these hubs grow with community needs and form a replicable, regional network of shared services. Together, they transform the island into a visible, participatory system of water-based resilience, where infrastructure is local, flexible, and deeply rooted in collective life.