Climate change has become a critical ecological and social issue in the twenty-first century, contributing to rising sea levels that increasingly endanger coastal cities around the world. In the United States, rising sea levels have increased the frequency and severity of flooding events, particularly in Gulf Coast cities such as Corpus Christi, Texas. The city of Corpus Christi currently has over 60% of its buildings at flood risk. Further, approximately 16% of the city’s area falls within the United States government’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) special flood hazard area. There is a pressing need for flood-resilient architectural interventions for this city and several others that face a similar situation. This research study seeks to address this need by proposing a comprehensive research-backed set of guidelines that can be used for the design of flood-resilient buildings in the city. The process for the development of the guidelines involves several steps, including systematic reviews of the literature, critical analyses of previously completed flood-resilient buildings, and analyses of the city’s local vernacular architectural strategies. The newly developed guidelines are then subjected to a Delphi validation process, following which they are deployed in the design of a mock community center building for a site selected within the city. The building design is then tested for its resilience to flooding through a critical evaluation of the design solution relative to the design guidelines. While the proposed guidelines for the design of flood-resilient buildings are implemented in the city of Corpus Christi as part of this study, they offer adaptable solutions for similar coastal regions worldwide.

• Problem / Global Context
  In the face of global issues like climate change, cultural erasure, and material waste, architecture too often defaults to standardized, cost-driven solutions that ignore local identity and community voice. At the same time, the enormity of global challenges can obscure the power of small-scale, place-specific architectural work to generate meaningful, lasting change.
• Case Study
  This paper examines the adaptive reuse of a 100-year-old grain elevator and flour mill into housing in Livingston, Montana. Once abandoned and destined for demolition, the structure was reimagined through a collaborative effort between architect, builder, and local stakeholders. The project resisted templated models in favor of an iterative, community-centered approach that prioritized cultural resonance and long-term sustainability. The logistical and funding challenges were met not through off-the-shelf solutions, but through creative alignment of local resources, regulations, and partnerships.
• Framework
  Rather than promoting a replicable design product, the project offers a locally embedded design methodology rooted in critical regionalism, community collaboration, and respect for the existing built environment. This approach centers process over product, allowing architectural practice to become a responsive and regenerative act.
• Impact
  By preserving a culturally significant landmark and adapting it for contemporary use, the project demonstrates how architecture can support ecological, social, and cultural resilience. It challenges the notion that adaptive reuse is only viable in large urban centers or high-budget contexts.
• Model and Conclusion
  While the physical solution cannot be universally applied, the principles and processes behind it offer a model for other communities facing similar challenges. By treating design as a conversation between past and present, people and place, this work suggests that small-scale, deeply contextual interventions can serve as catalysts for broader global change.

This paper examines how computational design methodologies can meaningfully bridge global design frameworks and local architectural conditions in historic neighborhoods. While concepts such as critical regionalism, vernacular modernism, and high-style versus popular architecture have long framed debates on architectural hybridity, they offer limited means for systematically identifying or operationalizing hybrid design languages. To address this gap, the paper advances shape grammar as a methodological tool for analyzing and generating hybridity in contexts where heritage preservation intersects with contemporary urban development.

The study focuses on Duranguito, a historic neighborhood in El Paso, Texas, whose threatened demolition for a proposed arena ignited citywide activism and national attention. Building on previous work comparing architectural grammars, the research develops a composite grammar that integrates modernist principles with vernacular patterns documented in Duranguito’s building stock. The resulting methodology enables formal analysis, generation of design alternatives, and evaluation of how global design ideas can be adapted into site-specific interventions.

Beyond its theoretical contributions, the project functions as a pedagogical model that introduces undergraduate students to computational thinking, cultural analysis, and socio-political awareness. Ultimately, the paper argues that shape grammar offers a rigorous and culturally grounded approach for advancing local architectural futures while addressing global concerns of displacement, heritage loss, and environmental change.