Our Sea of Islands: A Floating Regenerative Architecture for Tuvaluan Resilience

Abstract

Tuvalu is on the front line of climate change. The rising seas are not just encroaching on land, but also on cultural identity, national sovereignty and continuity. This thesis called Our Sea of Islands: Regenerative Floating Architecture for Tuvaluan Resilience, aims at rethinking urbanism as a floating realm at the heart of Funafuti Lagoon. The project offers a culturally embedded and ecologically restorative design solution for these fast changing times.

The research asks how might a regenerative floating architecture for Funafuti Lagoon enable Tuvaluan resilience and sovereignty in the context of rising seas? Further it questions how might Marine Integrated Regenerative Systems (MIRS) enable a harmonious relationship between the built environment and the ocean?

The project is informed by research-led design. It taps into Oceanic thought, theories of embodied experience, and architectural experimentation. Methods include mapping, modelling, and iterative design. The idea is to create a vision of a floating marine city that can foster community life and ecological regeneration and resilience while cultural traditions thrive.

The thesis references Epeli Hau’ofa’s Our Sea of Islands, urban strategies described in SeaCities: Urban Tactics for Sea-Level Rise, as well as architectural case studies like Oceanix City and the Maldives Floating City. These diverse contexts inform the design of a place where the ocean connects people and life. A concept of architecture as a means of invention, regeneration and ongoing cultural development is constructed here in the fluid space of the lagoon. The floating city is portrayed as a resilient response to climate change and as a means for Tuvaluan sovereignty and futurity.