67 materials such as wood panels, metal frames, and glazing, which also make up prefabricated materials. SOIL SCIENCE Groups of researchers around the world are working on rolling out techniques combining numerical modeling and experimentation. Thanks to the development of geotechnical investigation, observational methods will find new openings. Scientists could also count on unexpected and unprecedented allies, particularly bacteria, which are already used to improve the load-bearing capacity of soils. Like the technique of biocalcification, in which bacteria injected into sea walls, for example, lead to calcite formation. However, direct intervention in soils alone will not suffice. We must act on the causes of their degradation – beginning with reconsidering the extent of artificial surface areas in urban projects – and move toward a significant reduction in the GHG emissions behind global warming, itself responsible for rising water levels. Last but not least, it is a matter of turning to subsurface engineering, capable of meeting the challenge of heavy civil engineering work that impresses the whole world with its daring and technical expertise. The issue of soil subsidence therefore appears to be a complex challenge, involving so many different approaches and stakeholders. Once again, cooperation between all players appears to be the only way forward. (2) Paola Viganò, professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, received the Grand Prix de l’Urbanisme award for urban planning in France in 2013 and won the 2022 Schelling Award for Architectural Theory. (3) 6th IPCC report. (4) The “Mass of Human-Made Materials Now Equals the Planet’s Biomass” study, Nature journal, December 2020. 570 cities face the threat of flooding(2) The torrential rain that fell on September 29 and 30, 2023 paralyzed New York, which could be partially or totally submerged by 2050-2100. LISTEN to episode 9 of our Constructing NewWor(l)ds on Resilience.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTA2Nw==