Project by Adeline Chum & Adam Vosburgh

'RISK' Studio Led by David Benjamin

Rebuilding Paradise

Location: Paradise, California

Climate Scenario Wildfires, Extreme Heat & Drought

This project speculates on the Rebuilding of Paradise WUI Pilot Project through the combined expertise of the construction, forestry, climate science and reimagining the blurred/soft interfaces between “the urban” and “the wild” across scales. Our proposal calls for a rethinking of the town in all aspects, from its built environment to its economic relationship with the forest beyond, with the establishment of the Paradise community forestry, construction corps, and all tied together by the Paradise Human Climate Impact Model, an interface showing climate data with real-time monitoring of flora and fauna. This natural internet of living things allows the model to determine exactly what can be safely removed from the ecosystem and areas of maintenance. This land management system sets aside 25% to remain as urban development, 25% for leisure and natural resource extraction, and 50% will be off-limits wilderness. The Rebuilding of Paradise envisions a framework for not only urban development in the wildlife urban interface, but also a proposal for how climate modeling can inform political and economic decisions to result in a future of risk and uncertainty.