Saved by Spartina: Future/Building + Coastal Ecologies

saved by spartina

arch-ecological strategies for urban marsh restoration and inhabitation

Cyrus Dahmubed | Will Langevin | Florencia Lima-Gomez

Comprehensive Design Studio Prof. Scott Biship + Prof. Michelle Laboy School of Architecture Northeastern University Spring 2017

1

Typologies and Topographies

4

Architectural + Landscape System Performance Analysis UBCO Hangar Fitness Center, McFarland Marceau Architects Parametric Systems Versioning: Material, Design, and Performance Model Photos Structure, Enclosure, and Comfort Systems Ecotone Projected Sea Level Rise Spartina Properties Waffle Slab Foundation System Sediment Accrual Future Use Structrual Permanance and Human Inhabitation Green Roof System, Sunlight, and Shading Systems Integration Model Photos Fiddler crab Uca Pugnax

2

Rising with the Tides

23 Ecotone + Construction Ecotone Waffle Slab Fabrication Site Infrastructure, Atmosphere, and Grounding Study Model Photos Site Analysis Neighborhood and Usage SLR Impact and Infrastructure Rail Demo Plan Aggregated Site Study Ecosystems Design Demo + Salvage Plan Timeline Banding Strategy 2020 Phasing 2025 Phasing 2030 Phasing 2050 Phasing 2100 Phasing Masterplan Integrated Building Systems Diagram Model Photos

3

Temporal Translational Terraforming

46

Use Analysis, Scenario Planning, and Future Use Strategy Timeline and Future Use Strategy

CO

NR

AIL

CO

NR

AIL

+ 76'

+ 76'

CO

AIL

CO

NR

AIL

CO N

RA

IL

NR

Active Systems Building Section with Sea Level Rise and Strom Surge Floor Plans Wall section and Structural Details Building Rendering Sea Level Rise and Runoff Site and Context Impermeable Lots and Existing Green Space Berm Typologies Berm Strategy Integrated Buildings Systems Diagram

4

World/building

Table of Contents 63 Comprehensive Site Analysis Historiographic Landmaking Flooding and Programming Analysis Programming and Context Interconnectd Water Bodies Reestablishing Urban Hydro-ecologies Protecting with Marsh Head Design Integration and Execution Fort Point Channel Site Plan Fort Point Channel Site Section Integrated Assembly Process Building Section and Plans Renderings Model Photos Peel-Away Integrated Systems Axonometric

1

Typologies + Topographies

Prototyping for an Intertidal Future

Fiddler crab Uca Pugnax

1

Table of Contents

Typologies and Topographies Architectural + Landscape System Performance Analysis UBCO Hangar Fitness Center, McFarland Marceau Architects Parametric Systems Versioning: Material, Design, and Performance Model Photos Structure, Enclosure, and Comfort Systems Ecotone Projected Sea Level Rise Spartina Properties Waffle Slab Foundation System Sediment Accrual Future Use Structrual Permanance and Human Inhabitation Green Roof System, Sunlight, and Shading Systems Integration Model Photos

OKANAGAN, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 2013 mcfarland marceau architects

lateral E-W winter wind, W-E summer wind loads

winter

summ

er

ENGINEERED TIMBER WAFFLE SLAB health + fitness center

summ er

UBCO HANGAR FITNESS CENTER

winter

summ

er

material + snow dead load

maximization of wood usage increases embodied energy and carbon sequestration, captializing on a healthy and rich local timber market and advancing timber constrution technology

CLT waffle grid topped by CLT slab creates monolithc roof structure

wrapped slab and bent waffle grid provide shade

sloped roof directs loads to south wall/buttress

winter

primary loads north-facing windows limit direct solar radiation in attempt to keep space cool

longitudinal span limited only by vertical suppors

vertical and horizontal structure are integrated as continuous CLT members

8

9

6

Study Model Photos

Study Model Photos 10

Phragmites

Spartina Patens

Spartina Alterniflora

Ribbed Mussel Geukensia demissa

Mudflat

Fiddler crab Uca Pugnax

Ecotone 11

+ 50 yrs

+ 100 yrs

Projected Sea Level Rise 12

1

2

Solid CLT sheet

Panels “stamped” out of solid CLT sheet to create waffle slab, spanning 40’ with a 2’ depth.

3 Stamped CLT panels cut into thinner members for reuse.

4 Thin CLT panels used for flooring above waffle slab ceiling.

Waffle Slab Fabrication 13

30 - 60 cm

3 - 5 ft

Spartina alterniflora

1% - 3%

Rhizome

Spartina patens

Reproduces by rhizome root --> when pieces of rhizome root break off, they can sometimes regrow into a new plant that is a genetic clone to the original

Growth

freshwater

saltwater

Na +

Salinity

high marsh

low marsh higher salinity

Spartina Patens

Spartina Alterniflora

Freshwater enters from streams and rivers, saltwater inundates the marsh during high tide - dry seasons and high evaporation increasing salinity -->

Accumulates Na+ in its shoots, and it secretes excess salts through salt glands onto the leaf surface.

Slope

baffle

nutrients

creek waters sediment

Sediment

The plant grows in tight clusters, or clones, that trap sediment and raise the elevation of the substrate.

Acts as a filter for nutrients carried by rainwater to coastal waters

Deposition occurs during tidal flooding.

Habitat / Shelter

Sea level rise

4 mm

6 mm

4 mm

6 mm

Spartina Properties 14

A

Green Roof System

83 yr 11’

83 yr 11’

10 yr 4’

10 yr 4’

B

Rising sea level

83 yr 11’ 10 yr 4’

C

Sediment Accumulation

Sediment Accrual 15

Current Condition Wae Grid assists laterally

+75 year

Interal diagrid provides full lateral support as wae grid decomposes and sediment accrues

Future Use 16

high occupancy inhabitable space

structure intended to be overtaken with SLR

Temporary

Permanent

Structural Permanance + Human Inhabitance 17

su

m m

er

-9 am

spartina always exposed to natural sunlight on green roof

su er m m 3p m

winter - 3p

m

maximum solar radiation exposure during the winter winter

9am

shade restricts spartina growth

Green Roof System, Sunlight, + Shading 18

building proportions and orientation maximize year-round solar penetration

sum m er

- 9a

m

To capitalize upon and maintain the naturally highly performative ecologies supported by cordgrass (spartina sp.) architecture must serve as assistant, creating conditions in which the species and its attendant ecotone can thrive. To preserve cordrass’s uniquely protective abilities and keep the threat of rising seas at bay, architectural systems should be carefully inserted into extant and new cordgrass landscapes to serve as skeletal frameworks for the rapid accrual of sediment, thereby creating landscapes that preempt the rise of the seas by minimizing species migration and helping to mitigate the expected need for “retreat” strategies.

m su er

m

double-skin facade conditions air

m 3p

diagrid acts as thermal mass

win te

r-

9am

alternating louvered transoms maximize natural ventilation

winter - 3p

m

radiant floor heating and cooling

hybrid structural system primary member secondary member tiertiary member

lateral trusses carry preconditioned water

water geothermal exchange system

waffle slab serves as a flowering bed to encourage sediment accumulation + acts as a wave attenuator to prevent spartina uprooting

19

siphoned tidal water transposes tide to roof spartina beds via lateral trusses

Systems Integration

Model Photos 20

Model Photos 21

Model Photos 22

2

Rising with the Tides

Saving Boston from Sea Level Rise with a New Eco-District

2

Table of Contents

Rising with the Tides Ecotone + Construction Ecotone Waffle Slab Fabrication Site Infrastructure, Atmosphere, and Grounding Study Model Photos Site Analysis Neighborhood and Usage SLR Impact and Infrastructure Rail Demo Plan Aggregated Site Study Ecosystems Design Demo + Salvage Plan Timeline Banding Strategy 2020 Phasing 2025 Phasing 2030 Phasing 2050 Phasing 2100 Phasing Masterplan Integrated Building Systems Diagram Model Photos

Phragmites

Spartina Patens

Spartina Alterniflora

Ribbed Mussel Geukensia demissa

Mudflat

Fiddler crab Uca Pugnax

+ 50 yrs

+ 50 yrs

+ 100 yrs

Ecotone 27

1 Solid CLT sheet

2 Panels “stamped” out of solid CLT sheet to create waffle slab, spanning 40’ with a 2’ depth.

3 Stamped CLT panels cut into thinner members for reuse.

4 Thin CLT panels used for flooring above waffle slab ceiling.

Waffle Slab Fabrication 28

29

Study Model Photos

1

Fort Point - Secondary water infiltration point

2

3

SLR 2050

Principal Highway

Phase 1 nodes P1

Secondary Highway

Site Boundary

Stormwater Runoff

S. Boston Bypass Initial water infiltration point

Carson Beach - Tiertiary water infiltration point

30

USAGE

NEIGHBORHOODS

Institutional

1630 Coastline 1852 Coastline

Light Industrial Residential South End

Infrastructural Leisure Mixed

South Boston

Lower Roxbury/Dudley Dorchester

31

Neighborhoods + Usage

IMPACT Buildings

2063 SLR 2113 SLR 1630 Coastline 1852 Coastline

Parking

Rail

Boston USPS HQ Above Grade Roads

I-93 Interchange + Overpass: 375k weekday South Station Rails

At-Grade Roads

Fort Point Channel

Newmarket Economic Zone 700 companies (food

Sea Level Rise Impact and Future Use

32

infrastructure demo plan

proposed rail

deactivate/demo active rails

33

elevated infrastructure + shadow

phase 1 canal + berm proposal

elevated highway elevated rails

canal

equinox shadows

berm

architectural intervention zone

11

34

building demo + salvage plan

241,500 ft

239,692 ft

3

3

154,088 ft

3

mbta

widdett circle 226,100 ft

3

99,750 ft

5,899 ft

3

2,212 ft

93,378 ft

3

3

3

41,196 ft

3

ellery street substation

19,440 ft

old colony housing project

3

7,290 ft

3

phase 1 demolition (2063)

von hillern street

phase 2 demolition (2113) brick concrete cmu

35

5

SLR

2020

2025

2030

2050

2090

2100

Sea Level Rise / Storm Surges

SLR

10.1’

1.2’ 2017

2025

2020

Dot Ave. Demo & Building

30 Year Timeline

2035

New Rail Viaduct

South Station Expansion General Electrics new facilities

2030

Fort Point Walls re-designed

Canal 1

Canal 2

Fort Point Yard Demo Old Colony Demo

Amtrack Demo

Timeline 36

Banding Strategy 37

20’ 10’

2020

2030

2050

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2100

20’ 10’

2020

2030

2040

2050

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2100

1

2 1

3

2

3

38

20’ 10’

2025

2020

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2100

20’ 10’

2020

39

2025

2030

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20’ 10’

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2020

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20’ 10’

2020

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40

20’ 10’

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2020

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20’ 10’

2020

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1

2 1

2

3

41

3

20’ 10’

2020

2030

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2100

2090

20’ 10’

2020

2030

2040

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1

2 1

2

3

3

42

Master Plan 43

hybrid structural system primary member (concrete) secondary member (engineered wood)

er

m

m su pm

-3

“eco-ramp” replicates slope of m

m su er

storm water, highway runoff, and

-3

er

m

pm

m su

’ 32 ing spr

pm

-3

farm on roof

3pm

8

0’

er

m

m su

3’

pm

-3

2’

winter - 3pm

maximize year-round solar 2’

17’ winter - 3pm

eco-ramp faces south and serves as shading device. slope maximizes morning night in lower zones and narrows opening on top floor to control heat

winter - 3pm

6’

feeds ecosystem spring/autumn light on first floor

lateral trusses carry

Growing with the Tides

Saving Boston from Sea Level Rise with a New Eco-District Against the threat of sea level rise, a simple grass may hold the key to survival. Cordgrass

waffle slab serves as a flowering bed

at 57’ on a 10’x10’ grid

acts as a wave diffractor to prevent

heights will always preempt those of the rising seas. Within one hundred years this system of ecological infrastructure will have grown to defend Boston’s most vulnerable areas from rising

water geothermal exchange system

Landscape Integrated Building Systems

44

Final Model Photo 45

3

Temporal Translational Terraforming

Designing Interactive Build-scapes

3

Table of Contents

Temporal Translational Terraforming Use Analysis, Scenario Planning, and Future Use Strategy Timeline and Future Use Strategy Active Systems Building Section with Sea Level Rise and Strom Surge Floor Plans Wall section and Structural Details Building Rendering Sea Level Rise and Runoff Site and Context Impermeable Lots and Existing Green Space Berm Typologies Berm Strategy Integrated Buildings Systems Diagram

Timeline

15’

10’

Going with the Flow

5’

2017

2020

2030

2025

South Station Expansion

2050

2040

New Rail Viaduct

General Electrics New Facilities Dorchester Ave. Demo & Building

Fort Point Walls re-designed

Canal 1 Construction

Canal 2 Construction Widdett Circle Demo Widdett Circle Demo

Fort Point Yard Decommissioned Old Colony Demo Amtrak Yard Decommissioned Von Hillern St. Demo Ellery Substation Demo

Scenario + Use Administrative Art + Performance

California Earthquake

Infrastructural Institutional Instructional Laboratory

City/State Building Hydro-Electric Energy Society

Medical Residential Retail

Adaptation + Water height + sediment increasing vertically + Administrative Use due to population and tech industry migration

below building

Harbor Walk Laboratory building building forfor research research and and teach tea ++ Laboratory energy generation method

50

2075 Bypass Bridge Raised to Dorchester Ave

2090

2100

Bypass Road Flooded

Canal 3 Construction

Circle Demo

Biotech Collapse

arch earch and and teaching teaching new new

+ Residential Program + Sea Level and sediment continues to rise vertically + Salt marsh becomes new public park, extending the Fens and creating a green corridor

scenario planning + future use diagram 51

+27.5’

SLR + Storm Surge 2100

+12.9’

SLR + Storm Surge 2050

+11.3’

SLR + Storm Surge 2030

+9.2’

SLR + Storm Surge 2017 Low Tide 2017

+0’

+12.9’ SLR + Storm Sto m Surge 2050 +11.3’ SLR + Storm Sto m Surge 2030 +9.2’

SLR + Storm Surge 2017

building section with sea level rise + storm surge

52

floor 1

floor 1 + infill

floor 1

floor 1 + infill

first floor + infill plan

first floor + infill plan

floor 2

floor 2 + infill

floor 2

floor 2 + infill

53

second floor + infill plan

4” CLT

4” CLT

wall section detail

wall section detail

54

1/2” steel gusset joint Aluminum track Steel pins 4” x 2ʼ CLT Waffle Grid 1/2” steel flange

1/2” steel gusset joint Aluminum track

1ʼx1ʼ heavy timber

Steel pins 4” x 2ʼ CLT Waffle Grid 1/2” steel flange

1ʼx1ʼ heavy timber

2ʼx2ʼ Reinforced Concrete Diagrid

2ʼx2ʼ Reinforced Concrete Diagrid

structure + material logic structure + material logic 55

building rendering

2356

L RAI CON

+ 76'

CO

NR AI L

FUTURE

4TH

TRACK

CO

NR

AI L

+ 76'

CO

NR

AI

L

sea level rise and runoff 57

Fort Point Channel + Context

.5 Miles

T

South Station

Su

mm

er

St

GE HQ Site

100 Yards

Broadway T

Dorchester Ave 1” = 400ʼ

site + context

58

+ 76'

FUTURE

4TH

TRACK

GE

59

impermeable lots + existing green space

berm typologies

60

mean low tide 2017

mean high tide 2017

berm strategy 61

plans: 1/128” = 1’

+30 year high tide

2017 low tide

+30 year high tide

plans: 1/128” = 1’

+30 year high tide

2017 low tide

+30 year high tide

+100 year high tide

+100 year high tide

site plan, berm strategy + sea level rise +50 year high tide

2017 high tide

2017 high tide

site plan, berm strategy + sea level+50rise year high tide

site plan, berm strategy + sea level rise site plan, berm strategy + sea level rise

site plan, berm strategy + sea level rise site plan, berm strategy + sea level rise

building section with sea level rise + storm surge building section with sea level rise + storm surge

building section with sea level rise + storm surge building section with sea level rise + storm surge

62

beam system in raised floor

hybrid structural system

waffle grid transfers lateral wind loads to horizontal waffle grid

primary member - reinforced concrete diagrid

er

m

m

su pm

-3

in three zones to facilitate future

structural DNA prepares building winter - 3p

lateral trusses carry

m

winter - 3p

m

maximize year-round solar

hydro geothermal extchange pool to maintain ecosystem

inhabitable marsh landscape mediates between raised

dune, berm, and mound

water geothermal exchange system

Growing with the Tides Saving Boston from Sea Level Rise with a New Eco-District

63 24

preempt those of the rising seas. Within one hundred years this system of ecological infrastructure will have grown to defend Boston’s most vulnerable areas from rising

4

World/building

Bringing Fantastical Landscapes to Fruition

4

Table of Contents

World/building Comprehensive Site Analysis Historiographic Landmaking Flooding and Programming Analysis Programming and Context Interconnectd Water Bodies Reestablishing Urban Hydro-ecologies Protecting with Marsh Head Design Integration and Execution Fort Point Channel Site Plan Fort Point Channel Site Section Integrated Assembly Process Building Section and Plans Renderings Model Photos Peel-Away Integrated Systems Axonometric

1630

1795

1852

1880

1916

1934

1950

1995

2013

history of site land-making 68

FUTURE

4TH

TRACK

T

T

flooding and programming analysis 69

Fort Point Channel Back Bay

T

Charles River

8 min 6 min

4 min

2 min

Bass River Reserved Channel

20,000 sq. ft

T

Fan Pier Park

50,000 sq. ft

100 Acre Plan

12,000 sq. ft

8,000 sq. ft

Carson Beach

Children’s wharf park

Rolling Bridge Park

6,000 sq. ft

programming analysis and context 70

Fort Point Channel Back Bay

Charles River

Bass River Reserved Channel

Carson Beach

interconnected water bodies 71

reestablishing urban hydro-ecology 72

protecting city with marsh-head 73

site plan 74

75

filtered by gravity water purification

marsh mouth

water purification

marsh architectural architectural mouth filtration filtration

bioretention berm = surface filter

bioretention berm = surface filter

retention

retention

boardwalks + basins

boardwalks + basins

successional successional marsh marsh

growing attenuation

stormwater treatment

social parcels

filtered by gravity

growing attenuation

stormwater treatment

social parcels

architectural intervetion architectural intervetion c.2021 c.2021

dorchester ave raising dorchester and ave raising and south station rail south viaduct station rail viaduct reconstruction c.2020 reconstruction c.2020 reconstruction c.2025-35 reconstruction c.2025-35

76

station tower c.2020 south station towersouth c.2020

breakwater zone breakwater zone

evolving tidal landscape

stormwater filtration ripples

evolving tidal landscape

stormwater filtration ripples

south station expansion south c.2025 station expansion c.2025

site section and timeline 77

site

site prep

barge anchoring + bridge construction

bridge deconstruction

site excavation

piles

78

79

cores

diagrid

floor 1

diagrid + truss

waffle slab

floor 2

diagrid + truss

formal mound creation

waffle slab

roof

cofferdam

formal mound creation

80

cofferdam

formal mound creation

building + informal landscape 81

cofferdam removal

social parcels

social parcels

architectural intervetion architectural intervetion c.2021 c.2021

82

floor plans 1/64” = 1’

51

.5

’

51

.5

’

Floor 1

57’

57’

57’

57’

57’

57’

57’

51

.5

’

51

.5

’

57’

87

’

87 ’

Floor 1.5 (infill)

83

32

’

Floor 2

57’

57’

57’

57’

57’

57’

57’

32

’

57’

25 ’

25

’

Floor 2.5 (infill)

84

Roof Plan

GSF: 128,86 sq.ft - 291,102 sq. ft.

FAR: 2.4-5.4 Impermeable Surface: 50,955 sq. ft.

100% of site

85

interior + marsh renderings 86

approach from reconstructed dorchester avenue 87

2017

+50 years

+100 years

2017

+50 years

1” = 400’

+100 years

model photos 88

89

1/64” = 1’

model photos

1/4” = 1’

model photos 10

concrete slab roof and green roof assembly filtered water retention and collection drainage layer rubber membrain vapor barrier

rigid insulation air cavity wood panel decking system radiant heating/cooling engineered wood waffle grid (tertiary structure) heavy timber infill diagrid (secondary structure) concrete diagrid (primary structure) grey and stormwater intake/outflow

radiant heating/cooling system in raised floor vertical engineered timber waffle grid transfers lateral wind loads to horizontal waffle grid

91

concrete slab roof and green roof assembly rigid insulation rubber membrane vapor barrier cement fiber cladding

f i n