SCAPE and founder Kate Orff receive the fifth OBEL AWARD architecture prize for the radical breakwaters design and community and ecosystems-driven approach to adaptation.

Living Breakwaters, the 2023 OBEL AWARD winning project, is a half mile linear necklace of near-shore breakwaters along the south shore of Staten Island in New York. A mix of stones and carefully designed ecologically enhanced concrete units are placed strategically to calm the water, reduce erosion, and rebuild onshore beaches, but also to support oysters, fin fish, and other marine species. The oysters will form part of the design of the artificial reef formation. As they reproduce, the breakwaters grow denser and able to provide more protection of the shore...

Living Breakwaters wins 2023 OBEL AWARD