Climate-adaptive materiality: Re-contextualizing design components as tools for local creativity and innovation

In this article, materiality is meant in two ways: tools and materials that designers can use to work on the built environment. Among tools, instruments of policy and physical elements can be counted respectively as directive and practical components.
The instruments of policy are tools for the design of the process (plans, strategies, tactics), the physical elements are tools for the design of the project, in terms of technological products. Materials are for materic uses.
The built environment is a complex system that has to respond to different situations with its materials. Under climate change conditions it is asked to be ready not only for emergencies but in everyday life. The article will focus on water-related problems and on possible climate-adaptive approaches locally developed. Sea rising levels, flash floods, lack of water during always longer periods of drought are situations to tackle in order to reach a good quality of everyday life in cities. As we know the C40 cities are working on that. Applying general innovative climate-adaptive components would not lead to innovative development if they don’t meet the local requirements and uses, by being re-contextualized.
Furthermore, agile and circular cities require to respond with the availability of resources/materials coming from upcycling processes with high permeability requirements. The aim of this paper is to show a variety of materialities, representing tools for a water-climate adaptive and design-driven development, that are drawn from Dutch cities. The environmental programs of these cities are both representative of Dutch water-related strategies in urban contexts and differentiate in the choice of tools according to specific themes characterizing each city (heritage, public space,…). Amsterdam will be the study case.
The test area for the re-contextualization of these materialities will be the city of Reggio Calabria, in the South of Italy. This city lacks a climate-adaptive strategy/program and is characterized by uncontrolled urban development. This paper will show possible solutions where materialities can apply through a local-creative approach.