Fuzzy Boundaries (Project Thinking on Design)

Fuzzy Boundaries: Threshold Between Water and Land is a curated selection of reflections on the boundaries between water and land, and its meaning amidst climate change, social, economic, and political challenges. By engaging with form and contemplating the frictions and quiet conflicts that inhabit transitional spaces, the authors suggest that fuzziness – viewed through varied geographical and cultural lenses – holds the potential to reveal deeper layers of meaning.

This book is structured as a journey ‘from reading to design’, guiding readers through stages that may be understood as moving from analysis and interpretation, to drawing, modelling, and designing, and ultimately to implementation and [un]building – offering deeper insight into the thresholds between land and water. Readers are invited to critically reflect on the representation of boundaries: What is depicted, how it is portrayed, and through which scales and perspectives. Fuzzy Boundaries brings together case studies from across the globe, revealing how distinct realities intersect and coexist, while exploring strategies to confront the challenges currently facing people, water, and land. The sequence of chapters forms a body of knowledge aimed at supporting future initiatives in conservation, adaptation, and transformation amid growing urban and environmental challenges.

This book is directed at students, researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers in a call to consider fuzziness in project design thinking.

Francesca Dal Cin holds a degree in Architecture with a specialisation in Urban Planning (Università IUAV di Venezia, 2013 & 2017) and a PhD in Urbanism (Lisbon School of Architecture, Universidade de Lisboa, 2022). Since August 2023, she has been working in academia in Saudi Arabia and is currently an assistant professor at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University. Her research ― developed since 2018 at CIAUD, Research Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Design, Lisbon School of Architecture, Universidade de Lisboa ― focuses on coastal urban forms vulnerable to sea-level rise.

Joana de Mesquita Lima is a geographer and development planner (University College London, 2001 and 2002) and a PhD candidate in Urbanism (Lisbon School of Architecture, Universidade de Lisboa). Her research interests include the urban global south, housing, and vulnerable territories.

Sérgio Barreiros Proença is an architect and holds a PhD in Urbanism (Lisbon School of Architecture, Universidade de Lisboa, 2001 and 2014). He is an assistant professor at the Lisbon School of Architecture, Universidade de Lisboa and in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Saint Joseph. His research interests focus on the urban form morphology and morphogenesis, on urban landscape time and temporality, and on the relation between the sea and the city.