Berenice University of Architecture and Urbanism

Berenice University of Architecture and Urbanism faculty will present 'Derna Disaster and Future Planning: Understanding the Past, Shaping the Future', a collaborative research project contributed to by both students and professors of the university. The project was initiated following the 2023 Derna dam collapse and subsequent flooding from Storm Daniel, a disaster that resulted in over 10,000 civilian casualties and a loss of 1/3 of the city's infrastructure.

This presentation will begin by introducing Derna's architectural history, environment and urban development. Once this background is given, the presentation will shift to the impact of the flood on the citizens and the built environment, and how the disaster could have been avoided. Afterwards, there will be an in-depth discussion of possible approaches to rebuilding the city, the pros and cons of each approach, centering topics of preserving Derna's historical heritage and legacy, adaptive reuse, land use regulations, green infrastructure, and ways to implement sustainable urbanization.

In the space provided for us at the UNI Booth, we will be displaying a slideshow presentation made by students and faculty about the Derna disaster, containing all the details above. We also plan to display the final projects from the 2024 BUAU graduating class that centered the rebuilding of Derna, all on the provided LED screen.