Elizabeth English, Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Waterloo, has been awarded top prize in the "Sustainable Products" category of the Architecture MasterPrize Product Design Award. From their website, "The Architecture MasterPrize Architectural Product Design Award recognizes and rewards the greatest architectural product designers and manufacturers alongside those achieving excellence in architectural projects and practice. It seeks to celebrate the ingenuity of products and materials that make great architecture possible, and shine a light on those who create well-made, functional, long lasting, beautiful and innovative products."
Dr. English's Buoyant Foundation Project has developed a low-cost flood risk reduction and climate change adaptation retrofit strategy for buildings to foster sustainable and resilient communities. The product is composed of recycled buoyancy elements and other locally available, cost-effective components. The retrofitted homes float passively during flooding while remaining grounded under ordinary conditions. This allows households to remain safely in place during floods, without damage. The earth-friendly approach works in synchrony with natural flood cycles, rather than trying to control the forces of nature.
English has been selected to have her research, entitled Vulnerable in Vietnam, featured at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Global Best Practice Programme called Small Steps, Big Leaps, Solutions for Sustainable Impact.
Further information can be found on the Architecture MasterPrize site.