The design of adaptable, self-built neighborhoods in Puerto Rico presents a critical opportunity to reframe architecture as a collective resilience system rooted in cultural continuity, environmental responsiveness, and the historically informal practices that have long-defined communities like La Perla. In the face of climatic volatility and systemic neglect, this project proposes a kit-of-parts framework that supports incremental housing, modular infrastructure, and ecological restoration across the coastal amphibious and terrestrial terrains. Grounded in Puerto Rican vernacular traditions and informed by the material improvisation and participatory construction methods of informal settlements, the design resists homogenizing models of recovery by enabling residents to shape, grow, and adapt their environments over time. The work positions architecture as a medium of self-determination, climate adaptation, and collective authorship. By embedding local materials, shared labor, and spatial rituals into the built fabric, the neighborhood becomes more than a typology; it becomes a living platform for resilience; rooted in tradition and capable of transformation.
Resilient Tides: Spatial Frameworks for Political Autonomy and Climate Adaptation
