In 2013, the typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded, devastating great parts of Southeast Asia. The typhoon gave rise to the assumption that climate change has an impact on recurrent stark wind events along rising sea levels. Due to the effects of climate change, the fisher village of Xinxinggang which is located in this typhoon-prone region, is dealing with natural hazards, such as storm surge and flooding. In order to support Xinxinggang to cope with these increasing natural disasters, the urban design approach focuses on the vulnerable shore community, as the nimbus is to become a “safe-to-fail” (Jack Ahern, 2011) environment. In addition, the local community can increase its “resilience”. The UN describes resilience as a system, in which communities or societies exposed to hazards are prepared to resist, absorb and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions.

For the sake of assisting the village in setting up a “safe-to-fail” environment and increasing their resilience, the proposal “technature” by the team of the German Technical University of Darmstadt applies a holistic approach to the shock of climate change, as well as to social and economic shifts. The priorities lie on the creation of alternative income sources, novel business models and socio-ecological cooperation with the Hainan University, as water treatment, reforestation, and creek naturalisation is pivotal. The village’s natural slope is to be strengthened and heaped, while new model homes are being introduced to the community. Training on waste management and biodiversity are just as important as space for leisure and recreation. Xinxinggang long-term synergies shall encourage the fisher village to become a green spot for ecological, water-focused research and living experimentation of sustainable, low-scale maritime economics.