ELEMENT
MetaBiosis.Lab (βίωση, βίωμα =experience) is an ongoing worldwide project dedicated to collecting post-design information to evaluate landscape interventions implemented for mitigating the risk of natural disasters. The project commenced in Japan in 2022 and it is supported by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
“Sentient Edges” is a bold vision for the future of flood defense—transforming boundaries into living landscapes. Born from on-site observations, this concept reimagines coastal and river edges not as hostile barriers, but as vibrant places that encourage us to live with nature. They can be art trails, memorial spaces, thriving habitats, and shared community ground. A defense that protects, but also inspires.”
Articles:
https://landezine.com/disaster-preventive-parks-japans-coastal-forests/
Sentient Edges Collective
Our identity: Artists, designers, architects and engineers working at the intersection of coastal resilience, ecology, and culture.
Our Vision: To transform coastal defense infrastructures (sea walls, breakwaters, tidal barriers, flood defenses) into living, cultural edges that are both protective and poetic.
Our Manifesto:
We believe that coastlines are not endings, but beginnings.
It is not only a line of defense but a place of memory, culture, and encounter.
Sea walls, breakwaters, and tidal barriers should not represent scars carved on concrete or rocks.
We work in dialogue with water. We merge art with engineering, ecology with imagination.
Sentient Edges are more than infrastructure. They are places where resilience meets beauty.
Where communities embrace the sea. Where protection meets nature.
We invite fellow artists, designers, and citizens
to join us in 'placemaking' along the world’s coastal defenses.