Engaging Tidewater The Boston Architectural College Master of Architecture January, 2015
Christopher Elam, student
Susan Blomquist, adviser
Michael Wolfson, director
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Acknowledgements Thank you first and foremost to Courtney. You’ve done more than I could possibly list: my partner in this as in all things. Thank you Rion and Tallis. You have some understanding of the sacrifices you made for this, but you’ve also contributed in ways you may never know. Thanks to my classmates and advisers for the camaraderie and criticism, with particular gratitude to Skye: my sounding board, and to Susan for continuous insight. Thanks to my friends and colleagues who have weighed in or helped out. Kelly, for the value of a shared interest and judicious application of scientific rigor. Lynnhaven River Now: some of you knowingly, but most of you unknowingly, have deeply influenced my thinking. Greg, for your professional support.
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Thalia Creek shoreline, Virginia Beach, VA
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Table of Contents Part 0: Beginnings
Part 3: Engaging Systems
6 7 8
Narrative #2: unfinished place,restless engagement
thesis statement abstract lexicon
Part 1: Introductions 10 essay:
engaging tidewater part 1: economy and placemaking part 2: systems of inhabitation part 3: design for engaged occupancy
Part 2: Engaging Place 32 36
infrastructure of tidewater Thalia Creek site
98 Kellam High School precedent study 105 composing places of water visceral inspirations in nature material inspirations in architecture compositions of movement design studies 118 Thalia Creek Stewardship Center integrating occupancy and water formal expressions of water systems
Part 4: Reflecting on the Thesis Experience
Narrative #1: becoming involved, finding a place Narrative #3: king tides, involvement 50 naturalistic vs. channelized waterways 62 the productive edge 68 Thalia Creek Stewardship Center connection & removal formal language in the final form revetment and controlled connection encouraging expansion & integration page 4
146
bibliography
abandoned railroad bridge over Thalia Creek, Virginia Beach, VA
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Thesis Statement Stormwater systems are a crucial, although usually hidden, part of our constructed environment. Public involvement with these systems is a necessary component of living sustainably with water. Using the Tidewater region of Virginia as an area of study, this thesis explores ways that architecture can promote a culture of engagement with water systems and waterways.
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Abstract 1
The city of Virginia Beach has a complex relationship with the waterways around which it has developed. These waterways contribute fundamentally to the character of the region and are functional parts of the stormwater infrastructure of the city.
2
The complex, performative stormwater management systems of which the waterways are a part have shaped the landscape of the city. These systems are conventionally hidden from public view except in the cases where they appear natural. Increasing demands are being placed on stormwater infrastructure to prevent flooding of property and to reduce pollution of waterways. The paradigm of top down infrastructural solutions to issues of environmental management is being replaced by an understanding that problems have to be addressed as parts of a complex system. One solution does not fit all. Each place requires a specifically tailored technical solution, and each of those solutions requires different kinds of maintenance. The investigation of the delicate care and tuning of these systems is being carried out by those responsible for their upkeep. In some cases this care is
personal and voluntary, in some cases it is professional, and in some cases no one takes responsibility.
3
Architecture, both in form and through educational practice, can promote the engaged occupancy that is a critical, but often unaccounted for, part of water management within the city. Architecture should strive to create honest visceral experiences of the performance of stormwater management systems. It should display the maintenance and care that are integral parts of the systems. It should integrate technical components of the stormwater infrastructure such as retention ponds and bioswales with the natural components such as waterways and marshes. If architecture succeeds in this task, it will promote a culture of engagement that will allow for the continued search for ways of living sustainably with water; and in so doing, reaffirm the regional identity of Tidewater, Virginia.
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Lexicon Bioswale: a narrow drainage course filled with quick draining soils and vegetation, designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water BMP: acronym; Best Management Practices; the current methods of on site water management; colloquially used to refer to retention ponds CBPA: acronym; Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act; a set of regulatory requirements controlling development along the waterways that make up the watershed of the Chesapeake Bay Emergent: of or denoting a plant that is taller than the surrounding vegetation; in the process of coming into being or becoming prominent Floodplain: an area of land adjacent to a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge Greenway: a linear corridor of protected open space, following natural land and/or water features linking parks, urban centers and/or residential districts page 8
Infiltration: the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil Infrastructure: the physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society including but not limited to roads, water management systems, development masterplans, and legislative requirements Retention Pond: a low lying site area that is designed to temporarily hold a set amount of water while slowly draining to another location; used to remove pollutants and particulates from stormwater and to reduce peak flood discharge Marsh: wetland; an area of low-lying land that is flooded in wet seasons or at high tide, and typically remains waterlogged at all times Revetment: structures designed to prevent subsidence that commonly occurs adjacent to all waterways Riparian: pertaining to the edge of a (typically natural) waterway; living or located on the bank of a river, lake or tidewater
marsh edge and pedestrian bridge at Thalia Creek, Virginia Beach, VA
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Tidewater Engaging Tidewater
part 1: economy and placemaking
“What distinguishes us in our humanity is the fact that we inhabit relatively permanent worlds that precede our birth and outlast our death, binding the generations together in a historical continuum. These worlds, with their transgenerational things, houses, cities, institutions, and artworks, are brought into being by work... human beings hold nothing more dear than what they bring into being, or maintain in being, through their own cultivating efforts.� Robert Pogue Harrison Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition
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As I sit down to write this essay, it has been raining nearly continuously for four days. At my back door is a pool of water that swells to just below the door sill when the rain is heavy and slowly subsides when the rain slackens. Prior to the installation of a series of rock filled trenches lining the back patio, this pool frequently rose high enough to flow under the door and into the house. If the heavier rains continue long enough I will have to take a different route to work than usual because the constructed pond at the center of my neighborhood will spill over its banks and cover the main exit drive of the neighborhood with a few feet of water. Various roads throughout the city flood to the point of impassibility with every heavy rain event. When the rain subsides, a very
public domain image
different side of the relationship between water and community becomes apparent. Virginia Beach has one of the longest pleasure beaches in the world. (1) The region is spotted with waterways and wetland preserves that provide an endless source of beauty and recreational opportunities for the people of the region. The city is located at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. The page 11
seven municipal areas that are clustered around the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay encompass a region that was once referred to as Tidewater, Virginia. Our proximity to water is also the origin of the primary economic drivers of the region: we are host to several naval installations, a substantial coast guard presence, and a vast network of supporting industries. The waters that surround this community support and threaten it; the people are dependent on the coasts and waterways, and they are also the custodians of their care. The ecosystems, economy, and way of life of this region are inextricably tied to the water; but the character of that connection has varied radically throughout its history. This history has a lot to tell us about the ways that people inhabit a place page 12
where water is such a fundamental part of the fabric of life. One way of reading architecture is as an expression of the forces that drive the production of built space: the economic engines of development, the infrastructural systems that support it, and the legislative guidelines that control the ways a city is built. As the economic conditions of this region have shifted throughout history, so have architectural trends. Reading those patterns can provide an understanding of the way that people of this region have crafted their connection to the water. It’s important to look, not only at the details and appearance of the buildings of the region, but at the larger patterns of urban development and infrastructure as well. Colonial style facades have been
applied to houses consistently for the last 500 years in the Tidewater region; but the networks of infrastructure that those houses have incorporated, and been incorporated in, have changed over the years. From circulation, to power, to stormwater the urban systems that have been constructed as part of the process of inhabiting the region have varied radically according to the needs of the people, the technology available, and the pressures of the environment among a myriad of other factors.
Agrarian Economy
When this area was settled by the English in the 1600’s, the colonialists found several groups of Indians living closely with the land and the water. The Algonquian
photo credit
www.britishbattles.com
name for the people, and the village that was located at the mouth of the bay, was Chesapiook. The name was given to the bay as well as to the people who lived on it, and for many years the Chesapeake Indians lived alongside the English settlers. page 13
No doubt influenced by the already established way of life, the colonists primarily settled along the rivers of the region. Waterways that crisscrossed the area were a primary method of travel as well the corridors of commerce. The houses were oriented towards the water; and as the settlements grew, the cities sprung up around the most functional ports. The area was referred to as Tidewater, Virginia because the vast network of waterways, inlets, and marshes that were the lifeblood of the region all ebbed and flowed with the tides. The architecture that was built at that time, despite relying heavily on European conventions of aesthetics and construction, was born out of a response to the functional demands of the society and the forces of page 14
the environment. Those demands largely revolved around the waterways. The waters themselves were sources of vast amounts of food, particularly crabs and oysters. Plantations, being sites of food production, were built with the houses facing onto waterways and the farms sprawling out behind them in the scattered uplands of this marsh filled place. This allowed for products to be easily loaded onto boats and shipped throughout the east coast. The area has been home to a strong naval presence since its colonization as well.
Industrial to Consumer Economies
Like many cities along the eastern seaboard, the neighboring port cities of
Norfolk and Portsmouth developed a substantial industrial waterfront in the 1900’s. However, the development of the militaryindustrial complex, obvious in Norfolk and surrounding areas, was largely lost on Virginia Beach which remained a collection of agrarian counties. The Ocean Front tourist district was the primary exception to this rule and the defining element of the city. Since the 1960’s, however, the entire country began to shift to a consumer economy and to develop, where possible, according to a suburban growth pattern. Many of the cities that thrived during the industrial period have been left with the challenge and opportunity of repurposing a city that was built to support industry. Virginia Beach, on the other hand, was a blank canvas for suburban development and
Vicki Cronis Nohe / Virginian-Pilot
has thrived in the last 30 years, becoming the most populous city in the state as well as one of the most physically expansive. (1) The recent history of the region has seen the seven municipalities sprawl towards each other to the point that they function as a single suburban metropolitan area. Today this area is commonly referred to as Hampton Roads; the highways and roads that have facilitated the continuous and page 15
Hyunsoo Leo Kim | Virginian-Pilot
rapid development of the last 50 years have replaced the waterways as the primary drivers of the economy as well as the elements towards which development is oriented. The region is still effected by its relationship to water, but that relationship has been compartmentalized within the economy of the city, and therefore doesn’t have as much of an impact on the average citizen’s daily life as it did in earlier generations. Although local groups are finding some success in promoting a rebirth of commercial fishing in the Lynnhaven Bay and its estuaries, historic pollution of the waterways rendered that industry mostly non-viable. As of 2006, the Virginia Department of Health Division of Shellfish page 16
Sanitation (DSS) had condemned the entire Lynnhaven watershed for shell fishing. (2) The region still has a substantial agricultural industry, but modern systems of water distribution have separated the individual farms from a direct reliance on waterways. Water is still a source of recreation, but the public expression of that function has been mostly limited to the many beaches in the area rather than the inland waterways.
Moderating Economy
Scientists, politicians, and city planners alike have recognized that the suburban model of development is not sustainable with regard to its impact on the environment. Sprawl,
the fundamental operation of suburban development, has been pinpointed as one of the most significant causes of environmental degradation associated with urban development. Widespread public dissatisfaction with suburbia has led to an increasing movement of people towards cities whose development responds to the human desire for walkable streets, natural elements, and unique urban spaces. Addressing these shortcomings will be one of the primary drivers of future development planning in the region. In the city of Virginia Beach, the waterways find themselves at the epicenter of this conversation for two reasons. First, because of recent headline-garnering storm events such as Hurricane Katrina and Super Storm Sandy, storm water has become
Surge! 2011-Lateral Office
synonymous with climate change and environmental action in public discourse. Second, reclamation of waterfronts has become a popular developmental strategy in cities around the world. These types of initiatives have proven to be a successful means of creating desirable public spaces within previously developed urban and suburban areas. They often provide opportunities for municipalities to address page 17
multiple infrastructural concerns, such as stormwater drainage and park space, in one initiative. This is part of a recent trend in urban planning to look for single solutions which would address multiple problems within urban infrastructural projects. As Kate Orf of Scape Landscape Designs phrased it: “The era of big infrastructure is over. The top down, mono-functional, capital intensive solutions are not going to cut it. We need new tools and new approaches.� The alternative that she and many others in the fields of urban planning and landscape architecture propose is an approach that takes a step back to look at the many systems that are at work together within a region, and to craft responses that address the varied needs of these systems. Waterways are the end points and page 18
primary functional elements of the storm water infrastructure in the Tidewater region. They are also the nexus of open space and natural space within the city. They represent elements around which development can easily be structured to facilitate efficient flows of people, cars, electricity, and water; this value of using the waterways as organizational elements in future development has already been recognized by city officials. Virginia Beach planning authorities have adopted a series of greenway master plans that incorporate waterways into linear park systems. These proposals preserve the functional performance of the waterways, while providing green space to the public along development corridors.
Virginian-Pilot file photo
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part 2: systems of inhabitation
“The technological landscape dominates our experience of the world around us. The spaces between buildings are comprised of a complex of streets and plazas embedded with communication lines, civic utilities, and other hidden infrastructures; an overlay of billboards, advertisements and signage convert building facades, bus shelters, and taxicabs into a sea of visual information. Though the urban park feigns to be an island of nature amidst the turbulent city, it is instead a landscape of denaturized utility and an integral extension of the urban system. The urban park is a softened but still technological space imbued with its own performance criteria.� Kevin Kelly What Technology Wants
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The development and construction of Virginia Beach has involved an ever increasing management and manipulation of the environment to accommodate the ways in which we live; ways largely based on the economic systems within which we operate. Suburbia is the residential expression of a consumer economy, and it has been applied to this area unmitigated by previously existing development. This has resulted in a monocultural urban pattern that the city is now striving to redress. The desire for a more livable city is being addressed at the local scale, but the adaptations of the infrastructure of Virginia Beach to respond to environmental degradations are primarily being driven through the mechanism of regulatory mandates. There are two primary regulatory
Vicki Cronis Nohe/ Virginian-Pilot
implements that drive the region’s technological response to stormwater management. Both are dictated by The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The most impactful of these regulations to date has been the requirement to control runoff and reduce pollutants in stormwater. This requirement has been in effect in Virginia since the Clean Water Act of 1977 was signed into law. The page 21
conventional method of meeting these requirements has been the creation of retention ponds. These structures can be seen in a few different forms but the basic mechanism is the same in all of them: a calculated portion of the total stormwater that falls onto a site is collected and held for a particular amount of time before being discharged into the stormwater system. This action reduces the amount of water that is immediately introduced to the city’s storm water infrastructure in a storm event. At the same time, the action of holding the water on site results in a radical reduction in the amount of debris and dissolved pollutants that are introduced to the waterways by fast flowing water. As the collected water sits in the holding stages, on site debris and particulates have time to settle out of page 22
the water before rushing away towards the waterways. This approach to stormwater management has become ubiquitous because it is the most versatile and cost effect approach available. (3) According to city records, there are 865 constructed ponds in the city of Virginia Beach alone. (4) These ponds are such a common part of the landscape of Virginia Beach that they go largely unnoticed. The second regulation of note is the 2011 Virginia Stormwater Management Program which went into effect in 2014, the primary impact of which is an increased requirement for removal of dissolved nutrients in stormwater. The increased performance requirements can still be met using retention ponds, but the size of the basins necessary to achieve the required
reduction of diluted nutrients is proving to be cumbersome. Planted engineered filtration trenches, commonly referred to as bioswales, are becoming a popular technological response because they provide a more spaceefficient method of nutrient removal. A significant aspect of the productivity of these systems is the care and maintenance that they require in order to continue to function at the designed capacity. Retention ponds collect trash that must be cleaned regularly, and the dissolved nutrients that collect in the water often require remediation to prevent excess algae growth from developing on the surface of the water. Additionally, the increasing density of development in Tidewater has resulted in these previously hidden elements being forced into close proximity with
occupied spaces. This necessitates effort and resources to ensure that the facilities remain visually attractive. Bioswales are typically designed with a sandy planting medium allowing for the rapid draining of the water down to collection pipes below. Over time, however, the bioswales fill with sediment and organic material, and they cease to drain in the way in which they were originally designed. page 23
Regular cleaning, replanting and maintenance of the systems is a fundamental component of their proper functioning. This applies not only to bioswales and retention ponds; but to the channels, culverts, inlets, and stormwater pipes that make up the rest of the stormwater system. Also in need of attentive care are the largest and most visible elements of the stormwater system: the waterways. The most well managed of these may appear to be untrammeled wilderness in the middle of the city, but they function as productive parts of the infrastructure. The deep channels evacuate stormwater rapidly out to the surrounding bays and ocean. The marshes that surround the water provide a buffer between the waterways and the occupied land area of the city, filtering out substantial amounts page 24
of pollution before it reaches the waterways and providing areas where floodwaters can fill without damaging property. Poorly executed care and maintenance of these elements can have a significant impact on their functionality. If the fast draining, sandy soils of bioswales are not routinely dredged and replaced, their drainage capacity depreciates. The inlets and outlets to and from retention ponds and bioswales must be kept clear or the designed water flow is restricted. (3) Increasing performance requirements will require even greater efforts as the population increases and the city grows. Continuing education and adaptation are crucial to the functionality of the systems currently being installed, as well as to the development of new designs and
technologies. These systems are going to be built in increasing quantities in coming years. They will be installed in every strip center, community college, dentist’s office, and residential development that is built in an attempt to reduce the quantity of dissolved nutrients and refuse that we collectively release into our stormwater drains. The effectiveness of those systems over their projected lifetime will depend on the personal investment of the individuals living in the area. Legal responsibility for the upkeep of many of these elements, such as the retention ponds, falls to the land owner. In practice, professional landscape companies are primarily concerned with surface
Stephen M. Katz | Virginian-Pilot
aesthetics, and fewer and fewer individuals are actively involved in removing trash from waterways, planting erosion resistant plants, treating the soil to promote drainage, etc. This has contributed to drainage problems and water quality issues throughout Virginia Beach. As pressures on an already overwhelmed system increase, and the city struggles to keep up, effort on the individual level becomes crucial. page 25
part 3: design for engaged occupancy
“If what is seen and experienced is portrayed in the language of logic, then it is science. If it is communicated through forms whose constructions are not accessible to the conscious mind but are recognized intuitively, then it is art.� (Calaprice, 2000, 271). Einstein
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In our buildings, the plumbing and wiring are concealed within walls. In our streets, the storm water pipes are buried underground. Retention ponds are pushed to the rear of commercial properties, out of the public spaces. Since increased public involvement with these stormwater systems is necessary to achieve the higher performances that we are asking of them, the first step in promoting that involvement is to increase their visibility. Architecture represents a crafting of the spaces where people come into direct contact with managed stormwater; it is at these points that the pipes, channels, ponds, and drains should be pulled out of the earth and out of the walls. They should be displayed as an expression of conventionally
hidden systems that support our lives and shape the world we live in. The forms of our buildings should be a representation of the systems of which they are a part. A building that clearly displayed those systems would serve an educational purpose. This is the education that waterway stewardship groups are already undertaking, page 27
but the education that is needed goes beyond the simple presentation of the apparatus at work. Architecture should not only display the methods of managing water, it should choreograph and display the care that is an essential part of those systems. “Qualities of physical space, our behavior and mental tuning are interrelated and when designing physical space we are also designing or explicitly specifying distinct experiences, emotions and mental states. Architectural spaces are not just lifeless frames for our activities. They guide, choreograph and stimulate actions, interests, and moods or in the negative case they stifle them.�
Expressions of the interconnectedness of our lives with page 28
the environment by means of these engineered systems are touch points for our understanding of the ways that we, as a society, control and manipulate our surroundings. They illustrate what it means to inhabit a place, binding economy to the care of the city through physical manifestations of the complex living systems of which we are a part.
Motoya Nakamura | Virginian-Pilot
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Place Part 2
Engaging Place
“What distinguishes us in our humanity is the fact that we inhabit relatively permanent worlds that precede our birth and outlast our death, binding the generations together in a historical continuum. These worlds, with their transgenerational things, houses, cities, institutions, and artworks, are brought into being by work... human beings hold nothing more dear than what they bring into being, or maintain in being, through their own cultivating efforts.” Robert Pogue Harrison Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition “Wetlands are inherently resilient and dynamic landforms, their biggest threat lies in our continued reluctance to consider them in our commercial development in order to protect their hydrological and ecological value.” Kelly J. Hokanson Wetlands Ecohydrologist, University of Alberta
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wooded edge at Thalia Creek, Virginia Beach, VA
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Infrastructure of Tidewater reading place at the scale of a city
Interstate 264 cuts the tidewater area in half, creating northern and southern regions with the watershed zones roughly following this dividing line. The northern watershed includes the waterways that shed into Lynnhaven Bay before discharging through Lynnhaven Inlet to the Chesapeake Bay. Just south of the highway is the fall line that separates the page 32
watershed of the Chesapeake Bay from the area that sheds south into the North Landing River, which eventually empties into Currituck Sound in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The northern Chesapeake Bay watershed contains the majority of the greenspace in Virginia Beach, mostly organized around the natural waterways as open
space and waterside parks. The southern lacks the structure of the north. However, since most of the developments south of the highway were completed after 1960 they were subject to legislation requiring the installation of retention ponds.
Thalia Creek site
hwy 264
Virginia Beach infrastructure plan
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100 year flood plain
Areas threatened by significant storm event. Predominantly located where waterways have been substantially modified and narrowed.
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served by retention pond
The northern watershed mostly lacks retention ponds. While the northern watershed suffers less extensive flooding, as of 2007 the waterways were listed as impaired for bacterial contamination based on state water quality standards.
open space
When located adjacent to waterways, these valuable undeveloped spaces provide a built-in overflow for waterways inundated by a significant storm event. Lining the rivers, they also absorb pollutants and collect trash before they can enter the waterways. Waterways in the northern watershed are lined with such open spaces, but developments in the southern watershed are built right to the edge of the water.
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Thalia Creek Thalia Creek Site
reading place at the scale of a site
The southern most fork in Thalia Creek provides an ideal venue for an architectural contribution to the stormwater systems of the city. The site is located at the tip of a short ridge that reaches out towards one of the widest naturalized waterways this far south in Virginia Beach. The site is surrounded by commercial and residential developments page 36
which could potentially provide an opportunity for connecting occupants to the waterway. In particular, the Virginia Beach Town Center, a pedestrian friendly, densely built development begun in 2003, (5) lies within easy walking distance to the northwest of the site. The majority of the sites surrounding this location discharge water directly into
Thalia Creek. Just south of the property, across highway 264, is one of the largest and most popular parks in Virginia Beach. The park is playfully named Mt. Trashmore because it was built on the site of a former landfill.
Town Center Edge
Thalia Creek
site
Hwy 264
Mt. Trashmore
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1 site view to northwest
This site lies within one of the city’s Greenway Masterplan designs orchestrated by the Virginia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation. This particular plan, adopted April 11, 2007, includes a recommendation for a series of trails, parks and water access points along Thalia Creek. Within the masterplan document, it was noted that page 38
2 site view to north
the plan has the potential to contribute to the character of the Central Business District: a region of strategic growth that includes the area of the master plan as well as the Town Center area. (6) The Greenway is designed to serve as a connecting element between Mt. Trashmore, Town Center, and several of the surrounding neighborhoods.
1 site view to northeast
One shortcoming of the plan is the lack of prominent points of connection between the park and the rest of the business district. The design for the Thalia Creek site could create a clear and prominent point of entry into the park from both the suburban, southern area of the city as well as from the pedestrian Town Center area.
This would help to integrate the park into the urban pattern of the area, and it would encourage increased use of the park system.
water
proposed greenway trail
existing wetland
urban trail component
3 2 1
Thalia Creek greenway masterplan
prepared by Landstudio P.C. for the City of Virginia Beach
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upland forest
wooded path
marsh
water channel
Thalia Creek section @ forested edge
prepared by Landstudio P.C. for the City of Virginia Beach
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The Greenway Masterplan presented studies of the variable edge conditions of the waterway and their potential use as recreational spaces. Forested edge conditions with limited marsh area were identified as ideal for woodland paths.
upland forest
elevated path
marsh
water channel
Thalia Creek section @ marsh edge
prepared by Landstudio P.C. for the City of Virginia Beach
In the areas where a wide marsh edge existed along the waterway, elevated walkways were proposed. This strategy would allow people to move through spaces that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. It also limits the impact of human occupancy on the natural habitats of the marsh. page 41
1 model view to northwest
2 model view to southeast
High tide conditions of Thalia Creek can be visually observed, as can the topographic highs and lows of the site. The encroachment of residential developments on the waterways are apparent in places and a wide marsh edge can be, seen at others. Topographical data allows the prediction of land areas that will become page 42
inundated in a storm event that has not happened in our lifetimes. 60’-0� from the waters edge at mean tide is the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (CBPA) setback line. All of these qualities make up the found condition of this site.
CBPA setback line
buildings
100 year flood plain
mean water level
2
1
analytical site model
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Narrative 1: becoming involved, finding a place
It wasn’t until I volunteered to clean trash out of some of the rivers in Virginia Beach that I began to get a clear picture of the ways that these waters are taken advantage of, revered, ignored, and designed. A local waterway stewardship group hosts monthly river clean up outings on weekends throughout the spring, summer and fall. This group, Lynnhaven River Now, focuses its efforts on the watershed of the Lynnhaven River. The Lynnhaven River watershed, including the Eastern Branch, the Western Branch, and Broad Bay/Linkhorn Bay encompasses an area of land and water of approximately 64 square miles with nearly page 44
150 miles of shoreline. (2) The first time I joined them, with my kids in tow, we met up with the group in the parking lot of an office complex that backed up to a waterway. It was a cool morning in the early spring. My children, Rion, who is nine years old, and Tallis, who is six, were not much excited by the notion of picking up trash on a Saturday morning until they were handed the trash pickers with which to carry out the task. The term trash picker is a very limiting name for the device, suggesting that there is only one thing
that the robotic claw is capable of grabbing. My kids knew otherwise. After several minutes of robot fights, face pinching and robot hand shaking we began looking for trash to fill our large orange bags. We made our way into an area of lowland pine forest that was a naturalized buffer between the office complex and a section of the North Landing River. It quickly became apparent that the majority of trash was to be found closer to the water in the wetland areas. Collecting small pieces of trash while moving along the muddy edge, we eventually came page 45
to the area that received the primary discharge of water from the office park. It was a wide marshy area that spread out as it approached the open river. It was here that we began to find the more substantial detritus: tires, a mannequin, a water heater. It was fascinating to see the amount of both decay and wild life that was able to exist within this small area of unmanaged drainage. Trees, fallen into the floodplain, decayed in place; streaks of orange stains along the surface of the muddy ground lead page 46
the eye up hill to pieces of metal that were slowly dissolving. Laboriously hauling out our findings, we reconvened with our fellow river cleaners to compare our collections before piling it all up to await removal by the city trash services. The second time I joined a cleanup, it took place in a very different kind of waterway. From a parking lot directly adjacent to a major commercial thoroughfare, we accessed the water for cleanup via kayak. This was another section of the North
Landing River that had been channelized: a consistent 30’-0� wide surface of water, running straight from the culvert at the side of the road northwest through a neighborhood. The houses backing up to the waterway all have fences to separate themselves from this channel. The North Landing River, for a section of about 5 miles, is no more than a storm water spillway. Fast flowing water erodes the banks of the channel. This natural occurrence is exacerbated by the fact that the lawns running down to the water
are meticulously mowed, preventing any of the stabilizing plant growth that would normally occur along the water’s edge. Here and there, homeowners have installed shoreline revetment to fight back the removal of their property. In a more affluent neighborhood these revetments might be concrete or large stone, they might be ornamentally arranged or edged with planter beds or sculpted wetland areas. In this neighborhood one is more likely to see corrugated metal or wood: less resilient and less attractive, but page 47
cheaper. We recently purchased a kayak that is composed of three separate pieces that snap together using a system of buckles. Once assembled it makes a roomy two person, sit-on-top kayak that holds me, my kids and our equipment quite comfortably. The novelty of the product and the energy of two cute children combined to make the assembly of the boat at the edge of the water quite a scene. So with cameras on us, equipped this time with nets as well as trash pickers and bags, Rion and page 48
Tallis scrambled on all fours down the bank and into the kayak. I followed, lumbering into the back seat of the boat and pushing off. As soon as we were gliding out onto the water, we could see that where growth has been allowed along the shoreline, trash collected in surprising quantities. As we attempted to collect the trash we got a first hand experience of why that happens. We glided easily down the open watercourse; but when we approached the overgrown edge, branches impeded our movement. Pushing branches
aside and lunging in towards the visible trash we discovered that among the shoreline plant-life is a thorny vine that drapes down towards the water. The rest of the morning’s cleaning efforts included a significant amount of scouting for locations where trash could be accessed without fear of getting our clothes or flesh caught up in the process. Once again, the end of the outing involved a gathering of people and trash; a comparing of accomplishment a sharing of stories before returning to our regular lives.
Despite driving past these two places on a regular basis, I will likely never visit them again. Both little adventures were rich with implications for understanding suburban waterways, but it was only through a sense of duty that my kids and I did or would likely ever again take the time to enter them.
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Naturalistic vs. Channelized Waterways understanding conditions of managed waterways
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floodplain
waterway
floodplain & flow of an unmodified waterway
While the majority of the waterways in Virginia Beach have been managed to some degree, it is useful to differentiate between waterways that remain naturalistic in their appearance and performance qualities and waterways that have been so deeply modified as to have taken on a different, obviously modified character.
floodplain
waterway
floodplain & flow of a channelized waterway
Waterways in cities have often been treated exclusively as a means of evacuating water from developed areas. This monofunctional way of approaching waterways underpins the convention of channelization. The process of channelization involves narrowing, deepening, and straightening waterways. This allows more water to flow
quickly through an area while greatly increasing the land area that can be safely and easily built upon. This process has a slew of negative repercussions that become particularly apparent when the waterways are viewed as more than just conduits for stormwater removal.
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emergent marsh
lowland woods
waterway
habitats of an unmodified waterway
A wide riparian channel is characteristic of a naturalistic waterway. It allows for a shallower watercourse with a wide floodplain. While it requires more land area to achieve, it allows for a variety of habitats. Especially noteworthy are the wetlands, which are almost entirely absent from channelized waterway systems. These wetlands are highly page 52
productive ecosystems which support a wide variety of flora and fauna and mitigate the effects of pollution on downstream habitats.
habitats of a naturalistic waterway
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emergent marsh
waterway
lowland woods
habitats of a channelized waterway
The nature of waterway narrowing is to limit the variability of the watercourse. Channelized waterways require continual care to avoid the course changes that naturally occur in waterways. Shoreline revetment and channel dredging are two of the most common methods of stabilizing a watercourse.
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habitats of a channelized waterway Naturalized waterway
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There is a dynamic zone at the edge of a riparian channel, the transition point from the lowland marshes and waterway to the upland areas. Small woody sub-canopy shrubs in this transition space hold soil and harden the shoreline against slope degradation. These are critical agents of early control against the shoreline fluctuations exhibited in the
the productive edge
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area of consistent inundation. The stable and drier soils above the transition space can support large trees, the growth of which further reinforces the characteristics of the smaller woody plants: increasing stability and promoting inhabitation by land animals, including people. Because it represents the dynamic transition point from occupiable
to unoccupiable space, this “productive edge� represents an important area for architectural consideration.
naturalistic profile
channelized profile
sub-canopy shrubs
upland forest trees
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eliminating reinforcement widening the channel
stream bed interruptions
groynes (soft and hard)
The knowledge base regarding structural manipulation of waterways is extensive. The adjacent diagrams were culled from an database according to their applicability to the conditions in Virginia Beach. There are two common but conflicting categories of manipulation shown on this and the following page. The page 58
current page shows different examples of ways to promote variable widths of channel and a variety of edge conditions. These actions can improve the functional and aesthetic characteristics of the waterway but can also limit people’s direct access to the water and reduce the waterway’s potential to rapidly evacuate water.
initiating channel dynamics from River. Space. Design.
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partially naturalizing riverbank
living revetment
The diagrams on this these strategies that the varying page illustrate strategies for demands upon waterways in stabilizing edge conditions in the city will be met. order to maintain a controlled bank. (7) Narrow channels allow for easier access to the waterway. Because there are pressures towards both channelization and naturalization of waterways, it is only through a combination of page 60
artificial revetment
bank reinforcement
from River. Space. Design. page 61
The Productive Edge early design studies for architecture at the water’s edge
The built works that occupy these productive edges should be conscientious contributors to the dynamic characteristics of the waterways. They should also strive to derive their character from the conditions of the waterways.
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water’s edge character study page 63
hard, artificial revetment
promoting occupancy
edge enclosure
artificial expansion of floodplain
water’s edge enclosure
rigid edge-variable width
Along the edges of channelized waterways architectural forms have the potential to be obviously involved in the manipulation of the waterway. The foundation elements for walkways can serve as shoreline revetment or as streambed interruptions.
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two part enclosure
river crossing
softened edge-dynamic forms
softened edge condition
variable enclosure
dynamic edge-dynamic forms
The architectural forms in these early design studies mimic the canopy, trunk, and understory arrangement that can be seen in the plants at the water’s edge. The forms decrease in height as they get closer to the waterway. The instability of flooded soils is a deterrent to both plant growth and construction.
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consistently channelized stream bed
narrow, controlled edge condition
extension of building forms creates groynes
creating a variable edge & bed
static waterway
Integrating architecture with dynamic water elements will involve a process of growing together. If architecture is used as a catalyst for changes in the course and character of the waterway, the architecture will have to wait for the waterway’s evolution. In the diagrams above, the arching forms of a pavilion anticipate the meander of the waterway. page 66
bridge supports create stream bed interruptions
This has the potential to be a powerful display in itself, as visitors to a building would have the opportunity to see the waterway expand from one year to the next as they return to a site. This creation of moments of experience is precisely what architecture, beyond structured water control, has to offer. By creating places of shelter and activity at the edge of the
water the people of the city are brought into a position where they experience the water. By making the architecture a component of the active management of the waterway, it presents a genuine picture of the relationship of the built realm to water systems in the context of a suburban city.
unstabilized edge is allowed to expand
diversifying edge
covered walkway
overlook deck
newly formed marsh area
merging architecture and waterway
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water access
shoreline revetment needed
siteplan w/ floodplain
flood plain
forested edge
structured views
wetland area
siteplan w/ habitats
Thalia Creek Thalia Creek Stewardship Center a divided response to site
The Thalia Creek site poses a challenge for architectural engagement of the waterway in that in the space of a fairly small site, it presents a variety of edge conditions. Along a line at the northeast of the site, a forested edge drops quickly down to the waterway below. At the western corner and extending into the middle of the site is a wetland area that page 68
gradually slopes up. These two different conditions suggest divergent architectural responses. As an added consideration, all of the surrounding waterways display wide steam channels and are well maintained in a naturalistic condition. This fact suggests that, to the extent possible, any development should not encroach upon the waterways.
area plan page 69
elevated volume
column grid
grounded volume
connection & removal: precedent studies in a language of form
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circulation plane
circulation plane
grounded volume
To express an obvious connection to the site as well as a controlled distancing from the waterway requires a language of architectural form that is able to strike a balance between the two. The two projects depicted above provided a precedent for such a language. The grounded volumes in each of these examples shaped to
column grid
elevated volume
appear as a solid mass. The elevated volumes are rendered, through material and opacity, to appear lighter.
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study model: form and material
gessoed cardboard, plaster, wood, chip board
study model: form and material
gessoed cardboard, plaster, wood, chip board
language of form in the final design Applying that formal language to the conditions of the Thalia Creek Site in early studies established the basic arrangement of forms that would continue through to the final design: two grounded volumes rendered in plaster are linked to an elevated volume by an articulated frame. The entire composition is raised on a short plinth, allowing the page 72
main ground floor spaces to be functionally elevated while retaining the visual connection to the ground. Those solid, grounded forms transition to the lighter elevated forms as the building moves closer to the waterway, avoiding harmful interruption of the waterway and expressing the necessary disconnection.
study model: form and material cardboard, plaster, wood, chip board
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exploded axon- plinth
exploded axon- mass walls
Further refinement of the building form led to the grounded elements being rendered as pairs of massive planes. This gesture allowed for the creation of views to the site beyond the building while retaining the visual and experiential quality of mass. The articulated frame now supports a prominent roof element. Separating the roof page 74
element from the building draws attention to the sheltering and water collection functions of the roof. Circulation in and around these forms is left primarily outside of the enclosed spaces in the form of walkways and stairs creating a visual display of pedestrian movement.
exploded axon- frame & roof
exploded axon- circulation planes
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collection element
site/building section page 76
building pedestal
Town Center in the near distance
forested edge
mean high tide water level
100 year flood plain
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revetment and controlled connection at the edge
There is a steep edge in the northeast section of the site. Unlike areas with a wide marsh edge, this is a place where people can have a close visual connection to the waterway. This steep edge is also the site of obvious shoreline erosion; revetment is necessary to prevent the forest from slowly sinking in to the waterway. Along this page 78
edge, the elevated volume of the building projects out towards the waterway before giving way to walkways and covered lookouts. These elements create visual connections to the waterway. The foundations of each of these elements serves as the necessary shoreline revetment.
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There is a wonderful precedent in this city for architecture at the water’s edge. The informal ways that people have extended occupiable space towards and over the water along the residential edges of the waterways are often quite ingenious and beautiful. These constructions are purely functional and typically page 80
amateurish constructions displaying the same visual that are often in a state of language of posts, canopies, disrepair. and occupied under-canopy. The proposed architectural forms along Thalia Creek borrow from this aesthetic and, nestling into the wooded edge, begin to take on a resemblance to the natural edge. It becomes a functionally and visually integral part of the landscape,
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structured site views Small site structures along the forested edge bring occupants out over the water itself. These continue the series of views created by the mass walls and the elevated overlook.
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upper story overlook
seeing through the building
The second story overlook creates a complete functional separation from the waterway: lifted above the flood plain and out of contact with the productive natural waterway conditions but framing one of the most spectacular views of the water.
The two grounded volumes of the building are designed with minimalist interior elements and open ends to create portals through the occupied space to the forest beyond.
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existing low lying area
natural wetland
encouraging expansion & integration at the edge
The systems of water collection and retention spill out into the site toward the point where the existing wetland encroaches from the western corner of the site: the engineered and the natural merging together. The additional water being funneled into this area will contribute to the expansion of the wetland. page 84
Eventually the separation between the constructed wetland and the natural will be impossible to discern as the emergent marsh plants are allowed to develop and thrive.
constructed wet
constructed bio retention
bioswale
collection channel
d wetland
collection systems perspective page 85
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Systems Part 3
Engaging Systems
“ ...you’ve got to consider things like the canals, hidden rivers, reservoirs. All of these have a part to play and if you’re going to have a meaningful conversation about climate change and architecture’s relationship to water then you have to consider that much bigger network.” Phineas Harper Assistant editor of The Architecture Review “If the world would only build temples to Machinery in the abstract, then everything would be perfect. The painter and sculptor would have plenty to do, and could, in complete peace and suitably honored, pursue their trade without further trouble.“ Wyndham Lewis
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Narrative 2: unfinished place, restless engagement
Towards the end of my second semester of thesis work, it came to my attention that the movie “If You Build It� was going to be playing at a local theatre; a notable event given its limited release and the fact that Virginia Beach is no draw for fringe culture. It is a movie about architecture and community involvement, so the group of people in attendance was very small. The movie was inspiring but also called into question whether passionate community activists can really effect meaningful change. After the movie there was a discussion, led by the dean of the architecture department of a local university as well as a couple of local architects. page 90
After an introduction by the moderately prepared panel of experts, a microphone was passed around the audience. Various citizens spoke; one person asked the architects why their profession had failed to educate the public about the importance of architecture. There were no satisfying answers given in response to that question. One of the last people to take the microphone was a man who introduced himself as Chris Freeman, a teacher at the new Kellam High School. I was familiar with the facility. It has been open for one
semester and is the flagship for the Virginia Beach School District’s “Vision 2020” Comprehensive Plan. The most notable feature of this impressively sustainable and forward thinking facility is a “water courtyard” that retains and filters a significant portion of the building’s roof water through a series of sculpted infiltration areas and constructed wetland retention basins. It is an impressive local example of a sustainable water management design; and this teacher, now holding the microphone, was connected to the facility. He was involved in the page 91
community design process for the building, but more importantly, works as an environmental sciences teacher at the school, a position which allows him to use the facility as a teaching tool in his curriculum. I had come to these sort of documentary movie/community meeting events before. I had almost always come with aspirations in the back of my mind: the idea that after watching a thoughtful niche-market documentary I would take the microphone and say something insightful in front of a crowd of people. Afterwards I’d speak to various page 92
attendants about interesting things, and it would be an enriching and rewarding evening. The previous three or four times I attended one of these, contrary to those daydreams; I watched a movie, sat silently while others spoke, and then made my way home. But this time the topic and this man seemed too perfectly aligned with my interests to allow myself to slink away, so after everyone had their public say, I approached him. He turned out to be a fascinating and passionate person, and I managed to linger in conversation with him long enough that it
was only slightly awkward to ask if he would give me a tour of the school. About 8 months earlier, as the Kellam High facility had been nearing the end of construction, I performed a precedent study of the building, visiting the construction site, gathering the civil engineering plans for the project to study the systems associated with the stormwater collection and retention, and diagramming the relationship between those systems and the architecture of the building. I talked to this man about the building, and
despite anyone else’s claims to the facility, he spoke as if this were his building. Not in the sense of ownership or authority, but the way one speaks about their child or a favorite pet. It was clear as soon as I showed an interest in and knowledge about his building, that he was elated to talk about it. So a tour was arranged; and a few weeks later, I walked towards him as he stood in front of the building with one of the maintenance men of the school. They were talking about the recent work that had been done to one of the planter beds along page 93
the front of the building. Chris proceeded to take me through the school and courtyard, explaining the different systems and architectural design features, as well as the ways that he and his students used them. There was the garden: a series of concrete planters that would have been labyrinthian if it weren’t for the fact that they were 2 ½ feet tall. They were currently in the process of being dug up to replace the sandy “select fill” which had been used in the construction process. The plants produced in the page 94
garden, despite that setback, had been used in the culinary education curriculum. Despite Chris’ efforts, the produce couldn’t be served to any of the students as a healthy alternative to the prepackaged cafeteria foods. It turns out that all of those prepackaged foods had been properly vetted and certified by the numerous agencies associated with school meals, and the plants grown on site in the courtyard weren’t subject to the proper bureaucratic rigor. Adjacent to the garden were compost bins: low, three-sided concrete-walled designs. The final
enclosure of the bins had not been designed or constructed prior to occupancy of the building as a cost-saving initiative. This would be a project that would have to be taken on by the school. We entered the courtyard at the western most of three sections arranged in a crescent shape. As we moved into the center section, the first of the water collection elements became apparent: collection channels leading from the downspouts on the face of the building to a rock filled basin in the center of the courtyard. We were visiting the day
after a significant storm, and this basin had a large amount of standing water. Following the line of material changes that marked the path of water from downspout to channel, it became clear the extent to which the ground we were walking on was designed. Ground materials included permeable brick pavers, gravel, conventional concrete, mulched planter beds, rock filled trenches, and composite deck boards. Each was located according to the anticipated water conditions of its section of the courtyard and the desired functionality. page 95
There was a carefully orchestrated balance between the demands of the people moving through or using the space and the water flowing into and through the structures. The balance was both functional and aesthetic. It was this integration of architecture, performative system and people that I had come to see. However, the focus of the conversation, led by my host, was not on the sculptural forms or even the ways of moving through the space but rather on how he and his students inhabit this building. Inhabit, not in the sense of page 96
simply existing in the courtyard, but in the sense of taking responsibility for the care and upkeep of the systems and the plants. We made our way to the third and final section of the courtyard. It featured one curving elevated path arching through a planted wetland space. We discussed the fact that the plantings of the constructed wetlands still betrayed a rigid organization: a line of evenly spaced native sedges above a line of evenly spaced, broad leafed, native aquatic plants. It demonstrated the fact that even
the most natural seeming elements of the courtyard were designed. But with time the plants would grow together, appearing and functioning more like the natural wetlands after which this courtyard was modeled.
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Kellam High School Precedent Study a local reference for water systems thinking
Floyd E. Kellam High School was built in southeast Virginia Beach on a site within the watershed of the North Landing River previously slated for development as a high residential subdivision. The facility serves the largest geographical area of any school in the City of Virginia Beach and is home to over 1,800 students. (8) The page 98
building was designed by HBA Architects of Virginia Beach and boasts an array of design amenities associated with storm water management including catchment cisterns, a bioretention basin, a green roof, and permeable pavers.
Kellam High School location plan
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Kellam High School site perspective by HBA Architects
The stormwater management systems of this 108 acre development reach to every corner of the site. The engineered drainage of the numerous sports fields feed underground pipes which collect into underground retention basins. The parking lot drainage collects into planted channels that lead to traditional retention ponds; courtyards and walkways are page 100
finished with permeable pavers that allow water to penetrate into the ground below. The school building itself has a circular design organized around a public commons. On the south side of this structure, arranged to receive consistent sunlight throughout the day, a half circle courtyard displays state of the art water retention and processing systems.
water systems plans & waterway proximity plan page 101
greenhouse
stage
curving walkway
catchment
retention & infiltration
planted areas
courtyard diagrams
The courtyard is arranged with a coherent and observable logic. It is divided into three sections, each with its own character and productive features. The western most section was dubbed the “edible garden” and features a garden, greenhouse, and composting area. The middle section, the “interactive gathering garden” is largely dedicated page 102
to a stage areas for student use. The final section, named the “bioretention infiltration garden” is primarily filled with plantings in support of the retention and infiltration systems. Courtyard forms are decreasingly rigid and ordered in a progression from west to east. Display of water retention mechanisms becomes more
pronounced in the same direction of progression, and the amount of space dedicated to non-occupiable planted space increases.
courtyard plan
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retention pond
catchment cistern
site section In studying this building as an example of architecture designed primarily to compliment and express stormwater systems (which it was not,) there are a few criticisms that are constructive . Firstly, the articulation of stormwater systems that is evident in the courtyard does not extend to the rest of the site. The courtyard boasts a page 104
planted retention basin with paths meandering through it. The water retained on the rest of the site is either stored out of sight in underground basins or in retention ponds that are removed to the far reaches of the site, outside of any circulation patterns of people. Secondly, the expression of the stormwater systems belies their connection to the larger
overflow piping
underground retention basin
inlet piping
above ground channel
stage & seating
catchment basin
stormwater systems of the city. character of the building does In understanding little to compliment or clarify these systems, it is critical to the systems on display. understand that individual sites do not operate separately from the rest of the city. Even with the ambitious retention and infiltration standards of this design, it still connects to the city stormwater pipes for large storm events. Finally, the architectural page 105
Composing Places of Water inspiration and design studies in sculptural integration of people and water
One of the central assertions of this thesis is that architecture can reflect the various conditions of water in the built realm. Two areas of consideration inspired early design studies: observation of water under natural conditions and abstract representations of water in other art forms. We all have an innate sense of the behavior of water page 106
in the landscape. We know, without thinking, how it will flow through landforms to pool in the lowest areas. We can recognize a place that has been carved by water even if water is absent. A dry creek bed suggests the presence of water through the smoothness of the stones, the stains of past floods on rocks and the presence of decaying wood. Those are just a
few of the innumerable qualities that betray a place that has come into being with water. Abstract art has the ability to portray these ineffable qualities of nature in digestible ways. “Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot physically see with his eyes.� (Arshile Gorky)
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New Orleans courtyard
Carlos Scarpa
material inspirations in architecture The indicators of water can be seen in architectural examples as well. Building materials are an essential element of the architectural palette. The stone courtyard gardens of New Orleans display an aesthetic of decay. Mosses and similar plants, flourishing in this warm, wet climate, become a building element in and of themselves. page 108
Carlos Scarpa crafted an architectural aesthetic that seems simultaneously on the verge of rising out of, and decaying back into, the water, an aesthetic similar to that of Scarpa’s beloved Venice. On a patio in Virginia Beach, the material palette of black metal and greening wood on top of masonry reflects a common pattern that is born
of practicality: masonry or concrete in contact with the ground due to its durability; wood, visibly decaying despite chemical treatments; metal, used for its lightness and span, painted to resist corrosion.
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“The artist may instill a certain order, yet must ultimately respect objects or compositional elements which contain their own esthetic qualities and demands, and exert pressure on the artist’s personality. In this way, the act of creation is verified by the mutual attention linking man and nature, and gives way to a more integrating, accurate, responsible product which commits the spectator to active, critical and compositional participation.� Teresa Del Conde Manuel Felguerez: Nuestro Antologico
compositions of movement Architecture choreographs the movement of people, as well as of water, organizing the two dynamic elements as parts of a composition. Composing these elements in an abstracted plan view made understanding the site easier by simplifying the characteristics of the site. Beginning to compose forms in this way was helpful as a page 110
starting point in the design process, but composing in plan view alone eliminates the vertical movement of water from the composition as well as occupiable three dimensional space.
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forms of water collection
In a three dimensional sculpting of water, one of the difficulties is that the conditions of water will vary substantially. During a storm event, the movement and collection of water are powerfully on display: heavy rainfall rushes down from roofs and along channels, and swells in low lying areas. However, it is impossible to recreate that power when page 112
water collection and retention
there is no storm. One indicator evocative of the presence of of a recurring presence of water water in the landscape after it when water is not present in has drained away. a site is plant growth. This is particularly applicable to areas where water is allowed to linger, saturating the ground and providing necessary moisture. Plants, from the mosses growing on the stones of a river to the marsh grasses at a river’s edge, are all wonderfully
integration of forms into site
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conceptual model
balsa wood, gessoed cardboard, wax
conceptual model
balsa wood, gessoed cardboard, wax
It is at the point where water pools that the greatest opportunity for direct interaction exists. The depth that is necessary to collect water also carries with it a visceral quality. The creation of paths across a pool element accentuates the depth and draws attention to the elements below.
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movement study page 115
The adjacent drawing represents an early design attempt to incorporate the elements of materiality, movement of people and water, and plant growth into an architectural solution. This design for a high school football stadium was based on the concept of extending the conspicuous display seen in the Kellam Courtyard to the most page 116
prominent public element of a high school: the football field. Roof forms were rendered as prominent water collection elements; water collection channels were integrated with occupied spaces; plantings formed an integral part of the system and helped express water collection.
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Thalia Creek Thalia Creek Stewardship Center
occupancy and water systems integrated in the final form
In addition to artistically representing natural qualities of water, the final design addresses the typical mission of a waterway stewardship group. One of the primary functions of these groups is education. They arrange events throughout the community to raise awareness of the myriad issues surrounding waterways and stormwater management page 118
and to explain the ways that individuals can contribute to solutions. Another function they perform is advocacy for their issues in governmental circles. The final salient function of a stewardship group is the physical care and remediation of the waterways. They organize volunteer river cleanups, marsh grass plantings, oyster
castle installations, and similar opportunities for community involvement. These are valuable in and of themselves and serve a synchronistic educational purpose for all those involved.
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plan parti integrating occupancy and water systems The above parti in plan view shows the interlacing of water, rendered in blue, with occupied spaces, rendered in orange. The focal point of this composition is where the two grounded volumes, running vertically, intersect with the horizontally oriented channel. This is where water is redirected, where people enter the building and then are page 120
divided, and it is at this point unobtrusive. water court serves as the entry that a collection pool with an The southern volume on point for all of these spaces. elevated path crossing over is the ground floor houses spaces incorporated into the design. for public use: a retail garden The interior of the and an educational display. building is rendered here as void The northern volume contains space. With water systems as the more private offices for the the focus, the enclosed spaces, stewardship group. The upper by definition removed from story contains community interaction with stormwater, meeting spaces including the are designed to be functionally main public meeting room that flexible and aesthetically leads to the overlook deck. The
retail garden space
office space
men
storage mech system display
garden space
women
retail garden space
retail office
elev educational display
lab
floor plan
water court
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“Every building in the American South should have somewhere that you can stand outside during a thunderstorm and drink a cup of coffee.� Frank Harmon
occupancy diagram
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Occupancy is as a catalyst for translation from a two dimensional to a three dimensional composition. The water court at the center of the design is the nexus around which the public and private uses of the building are arranged.
notes: -connecting suburban to green space with architecture
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overlook
elevation page 124
rain screen
elevated volume
standing seam metal roof
steel superstructure
mass wall
rain screen
stair
retail garden entry
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filtration
collection
retention
formal expression of water systems
One of the challenges of representing water in the context of a city is finding ways to honestly display the apparatus which often lack the romantic charm of the natural. The first gesture to this end was to accentuate the commonly used elements of collection, including the roof, the down spouts (rendered here as rain screens), the parking lot, and page 126
the above-ground channels. These collection elements direct water into a planted bioswale. This element uses quick draining soil to filter out sediment and pollution from the collected water before discharging into a pipe (if the system is inundated) to be delivered to a retention basin. Two staged retention areas hold a specified quantity
of water, allowing it to slowly infiltrate the soil. This holding further filters pollutants and also reduces the load on stormwater infrastructure in the event of significant rain. In the case of a storm that exceeds the design quantity for the retention basins, the overflow is released directly into the adjacent waterway.
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Engaging thediagram Wetland water collection functional connection Water falling onto the main roof is channeled down rain screens and into a bioswale below in a conspicuous display of catchment. Water falling on the parking lot is designed to sheet flow into a channel that leads to the same bioswale. Water collected from the roofs of the ground floor spaces collects into a page 128
center courtyard by way of mold that will inevitably cover sculptural downspouts. Once the north facing. on the ground, a channel directs the water towards the building face through a planted garden. This space, between massive walls, is designed as a shaded courtyard. The plantings of this area will reflect the high moisture content and lack of sun, including the moss and
section perspective @ retail garden
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infiltration channel diagram
The bioswale channel along the front of the building is the most intensely performative piece of the stormwater design and will also be the area that requires the most management (3). This will be the primary collector of trash from the parking lot and will need to cleaned out regularly. Additionally, the soil in this area will need to be page 130
replaced periodically in order to maintain the rapid drainage that is a requirement for proper filtration. Since the channel runs along the full face of the building, this upkeep will be on display as an essential part of the system.
Perspective @ bioswale
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retention pond diagram There are two holding stages in the design. The first is at the water court where an initial retention basin holds a portion of the roof drainage before releasing it into the bioswale. The second basin is the large bioretention pond toward the center of the site. This pond will be sized to retain all of the site stormwater for a 100 year storm. The pond page 132
will be filled by the discharge from the bioswale, which is conspicuously located to make clear the connection between the building’s water collection and this semi-natural site element.
perspective @ retention pond
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water court aerial perspective
The focal point, and most dynamic space in the design, which brings all three stages together, is the water court. The collection channel feeds the pool, which overflows into the bioswale. The main circulation routes crisscross over this element, but the concrete base also steps down towards the pond to encourage interaction. Just inside the page 134
entry to the adjacent retail garden, an educational display draws attention to the building’s design features. The stewardship group whose efforts the building supports become integrated with the building and the site into a single purpose, and the execution of that mission is made into a public display.
collection channel
retention basin first stage
moisture tolerant shade plants:
floating & rooted aquatic plants:
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern) Asarum canadense (wild ginger) Carex flaccosperma (blue sedge)
Virginia Hardy waterlily Nelumbo lutea (American lotus)
Hydrilla verticillata
infiltration channel bioswale emergent wetland plants:
Batisia australis (blue wild indigo) Coreopsis verticillata (thread leaf coreopsis) Ruellia caroinensis (Carolina wild petunia)
water court section page 135
Reflection Part 4
Reflecting on the Thesis Experience “It is by way of the principle and practice of vocation that sanctity and reverence enter into the human economy. It was thus possible for traditional cultures to conceive that “to work is to pray.” Wendell Berry “Human beings hold nothing more dear than what they bring into being, or maintain in being, through their own cultivating efforts.” Robert Pogue Harrison
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Narrative 3: king tides and involvement On October 8, 2014 there was lunar eclipse. It happened early on a Wednesday morning and I was, frankly, too busy to care about it. Later that day, sitting at my desk, I was contemplating what I would do that evening. It was unseasonably warm weather, and the skies were clear. It occurred to me that while I had missed the eclipse that morning, tonight’s moon would still be close to full, and the alignment that created the eclipse likely meant high tides as well. Online tidal charts indicated that the next high tide would occur at 9:06 p.m., this would give me time to grab page 138
what I needed after work and be on the water at the peak moment. I learned that not only was this eclipse a spring tide, which is the tidal event that occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in alignment; it was a perigean spring tide, which occurs when the moon is at its perigee, the point in its orbit where it comes closest to the earth. There is a colloquial term for any such oversized tidal event, king tides. This was an exceptional king tide: the water levels at the morning’s high point had been 2 feet above typical high tide levels and had caused
flooding in some of the low areas in the region. I was a little disappointed to read that the high tide level this evening would to be nearly a foot lower than the one that had happened earlier in the day; but I nonethe-less resolved to take the kayak out to view, firsthand, my thesis site under flood conditions. My office is located on Thalia Creek, about 200 yards from my thesis site. There are no official putins on Thalia Creek, but along the back of the office park there is a bank that is clear enough to access the water with a kayak. I had gotten into the water here page 139
before; without a dock or ramp to provide easy water access, getting into a waterway with a natural edge can be an uncertain affair. When the tide is high, the water might come right up to the grassy edge of the bank. The last time I had gotten in here had been at mid tide. Past the edge of the lawn was a three foot drop down to muddy ground and a six foot wide stretch of mud-flat before the water. It is a challenge to be graceful or remain clean when moving through a mud-flat with a kayak. Still, sitting in my office, I had daydreams of the king tide alleviating some page 140
of my difficulties; water flowing up onto the grassy shore, me and my kayak sliding easily down the bank, skipping the awkwardness and filth, and moving straight to that sweet spot when you are lifted free of the ground by the water. This moment didn’t go quite how I had envisioned it. After work, I wrangled the kayak through the parking lot and down to the creek. The water was still six inches below the bank edge. Fumbling a bit with the kayak, I slid down into the water, sinking one leg up to my knee in mud. But I scrambled
into the boat, took off from the muddy shore, and paddled out into the creek. Kayaking at night is a very different affair than the daytime version. I had not brought a flashlight, and the shorelines were too dark to make out any detail. River kayaking is largely an observational activity: looking for plants and animals along the banks or in the marshes or lowland woods. Without visual input I rowed along in a fairly straight shot, with little to distract me. My thoughts wandered to my thesis.
At the beginning of working through this thesis, I had in mind that my design would educate visitors about water systems in a straight-forward way, turning a building into a diagram of its parts and pieces. A good diagram can take a complicated idea and reduce it down to something understandable, something that can be quickly and easily digested; I thought that my design could do the same. I appreciate a well-crafted diagram, but I came to realize that the understanding possible through a diagram is a partial truth. page 141
The information that I gained from field research, from talking with other people interested in water management, from working to maintain waterways as a part of the Lynnhaven River Now organization, and from kayaking in neighborhood creeks was of far more value to me than information that I gained in other, more academic, ways. This realization was a critical point in my design process. If personal experiences were integral to the design process, then I wanted to incorporate them into the design itself, allowing others to experience page 142
storm water systems and water management in the same tangible way. As I became more involved in Virginia Beach waterways from this perspective, my thesis evolved from a transitory design project to a permanent lifestyle change. My design goal changed from an intent to simply inform and educate to an intent to restructure the ways in which we separate ourselves from, or integrate ourselves into, our surroundings. This new understanding of interconnectedness could only be achieved through an immersion in both visible water management
systems and the waterways that feed them. I continued rowing out for 45 minutes, stopping here and there listening for bats or straining my eyes to see cypress knees, before turning around. On my way back, struggling to row against the current as the tides flowed in from the ocean, I realized that I hadn’t seen the moon yet. It had been the draw, the initial impetus for the trip, but it had not yet risen high enough for me to see it. As I was paddling past the steep embankment on the eastern side of my thesis site, I could see the moon
just beginning to peek over the tops of the tree line to my left. The idea I had of paddling down a brightly moonlit stream was not going to happen unless I waited around for a few more hours. Coming back to the point where I had launched the kayak, I saw that the water was a few inches higher, coming nearly up to the grass. Getting out was easier than getting in, but it was still not the graceful leap onto solid footing that I imagine an experienced kayaker is capable of. I dragged the boat out and disassembled it, loaded it away in page 143
my truck, and came back to check that I hadn’t left anything laying about on the shore. As I was milling around, I noticed that the point where I was standing was not the lowest point in the shoreline. Looking down along the line of the water, I could see that it swelled over the bank by a few feet about 30 feet down from where I had gotten in. The next time out I would try putting the kayak in there‌ and see how that worked out.
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Bibliography 1. “Virginia Beach, Virginia.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. 2. The City Of Virginia Beach, Virginia And The Virginia Department Of Environmental Quality. “LYNNHAVEN RIVER WATERSHED Virginia Beach, Virginia.” (n.d.): 1-25. Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Web. http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/Water/TMDL/NDZ/ lynnhavenndz.pdf 3. Wossink, Ada, and Bill Hunt. “THE ECONOMICS OF STRUCTURAL STORMWATER BMPs IN NORTH CAROLINA.” (May 2003): n. pag. WRRI Project 50260. Web. 4. Parker, Stacy. “For Va. Beach Company, Cleaning Ponds a Sparkling Success.” The VirginianPilot. N.p., 27 Apr. 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. 5. “Virginia Beach Town Center.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. 6. Rizzio, Carol, CLA, AICP, and Bill Spivey, CLA. Thalia Creek Greenway Master Plan. Norfolk, VA: Land Studio PC, 2007. City of Virginia Beach, Department of Parks and Recreation. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. 7. Prominski, Martin, Antje Stokman, Susanne Zeller, Daniel Stimberg, and Hinnerk Voermanek. River. Space. Design.: Planning Strategies, Methods and Projects for Urban Rivers. Basel: Birkhauser, 2012. Print. 8. “Kellam High School - History.” Kellam High School . Virginia Beach Public Schools, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.
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Boer, Florian, Jens Jorritsma, and Dirk Van. Peijpe. De Urbanisten and the Wondrous Water Square. Rotterdam: 010, 2010. Print. Kelly, Kevin. What Technology Wants. New York: Penguin Books, 2010. Print. Mays, Larry W. Stormwater Collection Systems Design Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001. Print. Misrach, Richard, and Kate Orff. Petrochemical America. New York: Aperture, 2012. Print. Mostafavi, Mohsen, and Gareth Doherty. Ecological Urbanism. Baden, Switzerland: Lars MuĚ&#x2C6;ller, 2010. Print Wetlands Watch. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://www.wetlandswatch.org/>.
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