Climate changes impacting new construction

WAKEFIELD, R.I. -Rhode Island’s coastline has been
damaged by catastrophic storms and rising sea levels
throughout the last several years, and architects say it
is changing how they do business.
“Architects and builders are slow to change, particularly
here in New England where we tend to be kind of
traditional,” Andrew Baer said.
Baer, who is a partner at Oyster Works design firm in
Charlestown along with architect Megan Moynihan, is
planning and designing a new boathouse for YMCA Camp
Fuller in Wakefield. The current boathouse, built more
than 50 years ago, is damaged from wind and water, and
Baer said their plan addresses a changing climate.
“We've built the foundation as a pier structure so that
when there's flooding, the water can flow right under
the building,” Moynihan said.
Baer and Moynihan tell NBC 10 they’ve taken cues from
builders in coastal cities such as New Orleans and Miami
as they try to prepare for climate changes that result in
rising sea levels and increasingly frequent catastrophes.
“You can see these doors here and how much they’ve
been beaten up by water coming in and coming out and
that's really just from storm surges,” Peter Swain,
executive director at Camp Fuller, said, showing NBC 10
the damage to the boathouse.
“You can't do much about the salt air [erosion], but the
building will be built to withstand whatever Mother
Nature brings us,” Diane Nahabedian, chief marketing
officer for the YMCA, said.
The architects say they are addressing the challenge of
climate change in several ways. First, the new boathouse
will be elevated with a pier structure foundation to
allow stormwater to flow in and out more easily. They
also plan to build the boathouse with interior and
exterior material that will not be as susceptible to
structural damage and mold. The builders say they will
also revamp landscaping and vegetation to protect the
ground near the boathouse from further erosion.
Swain showed NBC 10 where the foundation of the
boathouse is cracked already.
“Storm surges have come in out of the cove,” Swain
said. “They’ve really eroded away the soil below the
building. It's starting to tip down, essentially.”
The builders say they are still getting necessary zoning
permits for the construction. Nahabedian tells NBC 10 a
groundbreaking ceremony will take place on Saturday at
5 p.m., and construction is expected to begin this fall.