Fall 2025
Join Nautilus' President at Cities, Water and the Amazon: Challenges from COP30 on Saturday, November 15th, 2025 from 2–6 pm. This program brings together speakers in both Brazil and New York for an afternoon of interconnected events in parallel with key challenges from the action agenda of COP30. Join us in-person at Cornell Tech’s new net-zero energy campus and online internationally. Click here to register.
Shaping waterfronts that are both sustainable and investable calls for cross-disciplinary collaboration and expertise. The Waterfront Alliance is partnering with SILC (Sustainability Investment Leadership Council) to bring leaders together from insurance, finance, law, government, and planning at the WEDG-verified waterfront at Hunters Point South on October 23, 2025.
This exciting program on Financing Resilient and Equitable Waterfronts: From Standards to Strategy explored how resilient design, equity-driven planning, and innovative financing are redefining sustainable waterfronts. The program began with a guided site tour from 5-6 pm of Hunters Point South highlighting WEDG’s core criteria – resilience, ecology and access – followed by a high-level panel discussion and networking from 6-7:30 pm.
This event examined how design standards can reduce risks, unlock investment, and deliver long-term results. Nautilus' President, Bonnie A. Harken, AIA, WEDG, helped narrate the site tour and spoke on the panel about our work in Hunters Point, at South Battery Park City, and around the world. Click here for more information.
As climate change accelerates displacement across the globe, architects and planners are increasingly called upon to design for communities in transition. Erik Fang, FAIA, AICP, will moderate this timely panel discussion, co-organized by AIA New York’s Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee and Planning and Urban Design Committee, brings together Hillary Brown, FAIA, and Bonnie A. Harken, AIA, WEDG, President of Nautilus International Development Consulting, to explore how the built environment can support equitable, place-based responses to climate-driven relocation.Read more about the event…
Project News
Recent Events
Pictured: South Battery Park City Resiliency Project under construction. Photo by Nautilus International, August 2023
Publications & Articles
UNESCO and the iWSSM have begun publishing a series on global water security, including a chapter by Nautilus on "Water Security and Green Growth: Supporting Development While Safeguarding Water Resources" summarizing Nautilus' research and policy analysis of international best practices. Visit UNESCO Digital Library for more information…
Water & Green Growth
For "Water & Green Growth: Accelerating the Green Transition for All," Nautilus' President Bonnie A. Harken AIA described financial mechanisms to protect watersheds and summarized their case study on Quito, Ecuador pioneering use of water funds.
For "Green Transition for Enhancing Water Security for All," Ms. Harken spoke about the importance of a multi-pronged approach encompassing both centralized and decentralized infrastructure investments, modifications to public policies and institutions, and innovations in technologies to provide reliable and secure water resources. She illustrated those with Nautilus' case study in Gujarat, India. Both events were co-sponsored by K-water Institute, UNESCO-iWSSM and the World Water Council.
Post-Sandy Work by Nautilus
"Building Better, Building Smarter: Opportunities for Design and Development" is a collaborative initiative by the AIA New York Chapter's Post-Sandy Initiative addressing the impacts of the storm and effects of future climate change on New York City.
The Post-Sandy Initiative of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects was awarded the national 2014 AIA Institute Honors for Collaborative and Professional Achievement. As part of this effort, Nautilus' President, Bonnie A. Harken AIA & APA, co-chaired a multi-disciplinary working group on waterfront issues.
Industry Recognition & Awards
The Village of Haverstaw Comprehensive Plan & LWRP Updates, which Nautilus worked extensively on, was honored with the 2022 Heissenbuttel Award for Planning Excellence from the New York Planning Federation. Watch a video of the Award Ceremony…
In addition, shortly after the Comprehensive Plan was adopted, the Village won $10 million in funding from New York State through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) as one of only ten communities in the state to receive that honor. Read more…
Professional Activities
Ms. Harken served on the New York City Mayor's Waterfront Management Advisory Board, where she represented the NY Metro Chapter of the American Planning Association since it was convened in 2010 through 2014.
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