TED Talks Daily How to design climate-resilient buildings | Alyssa-Amor Gibbons
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Jan 3, 2023 
Alyssa-Amor Gibbons, a resilience designer from Barbados, emphasizes the urgent need for climate-resilient architecture in the face of worsening weather events. She shares her childhood fears stemming from hurricanes, highlighting how these experiences inform her work. Gibbons advocates for incorporating traditional building methods, like the Bajan Chattel House, that harmonize with nature. By blending indigenous knowledge with contemporary design, she offers insightful solutions for safer, more adaptable structures in our changing climate.
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Childhood Hurricane Experiences
- Alyssa-Amor Gibbons recounts her childhood in Barbados, marked by the yearly hurricane season and the fear it instilled.
- She describes the routine of preparing their house, highlighting her mother's unusual practice of leaving a few windows open.
Freak Storms in Barbados
- Gibbons describes recent freak storms in Barbados, including one with 500 lightning strikes per minute and a subsequent Category 1 hurricane.
- These events underscore the increasing unpredictability and intensity of weather events due to climate change.
Architecture for Resilience
- Gibbons argues for architecture that performs and protects, rather than just being aesthetically pleasing.
- She emphasizes learning from traditional building methods that work with nature, instead of against it.