In the next century, the climate of the northeastern United States is projected to change at an accelerated rate. Shifts in mean temperature, humidity, severity and frequency of rainfall events, duration of freeze-free periods per year, will displace current distributions of plant species and open room for emigrating, primarily southern-originating, species. The region will thus become a home for climate migrants of many sorts. As new human populations flock seeking refuge, environmental conservation of natural resources and rural and urban development will need to be maintained simultaneously. From where, then, will this development be sourced?

Home in the Northfield Mountains of Warren, Vermont and recent graduate of Middlebury College (BA Biology | Architecture), 2023 Thomas J. Watson Fellow Clark O'Bryan explored the traditional building materials and techniques relevant to this question over the course of 12 months, traversing the northern latitudes of Ireland, Estonia, Norway and Japan and apprenticing himself to the building crafts long-adapted to the intensely humid (and intensely dry) conditions expected of the Northeast in the future.

Training across dry-stone walling, stonemasonry, clinker boat-building, thatching, plastering and Japanese timber-framing, O'Bryan will share his diverse experiences of the year in photographs and writings, reflecting on the relevance of these time-honored techniques in the Northeastern climate to come.

The presentation will last approximately 30 minutes. There will be 15 minutes for Q&A.