Calumet Aquaponic Center

HYDRO HUBS

RUTUJA KADAM DHARMIK BHATIA ELIZABETH NORTHEIM

TRANSFORMATION

- The Calumet Region became a dumping ground for trash and waste early in Illinois’s history

- Wildlife has suffered from the creation of hardscapes and from the ruining of water sources

- The river flows 13 miles long

- 90 percent of the flow consists of industrial and municipal effluent

- Number one of the 43 sites of the Great Lakes Area of concern

- Transforamtion of the region took place in the early 1900s.

- Establishment of steel mills and oil refining companies by the banks of the Grand Calumet River

- In 2017, Gary Works, the largest steel mill, was one of the largest pollutors in Indiana released 25.2 million pounds of toxic chemicals.

- By the mid 20th century, contaminated sediments and toxic waste harmed the ecosystem which has the potential to danger human health through the emiisions in the air from toxic substances such as PCBs from the river.

CYCLE OF POLLUTION IN CALUMET AREA

PROBLEM STATEMENTAIM

Water: Every single drop counts

- Saltwater: 97%, Freshwater: 3%, 1% readily available for human use.

- The contaminated sediments on the bottom of the Grand Calumet River includes:

100,000 pounds of lead, 67,000 pounds of chromium, 42 pounds of PCBs which are extremely toxic to wildlife and humans

- In 1997, a 13-year old boy was found dead in this river while swimming.

Wildlife and Ecosystem

- By the 20th century, Fish population virtually disappeared due to water contamination.

- More than half of the fish population that survived contained diformities, eroded fins, lesion and tumors

Water Conservation

- To understand the practice of using water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage

- To create awareness regarding Water conservation and educate people by introducing different strategies.

- To purify the water by providing an ETP (Effluent treatment Plant)

Sustainable Environment

- To design a sustainable fish hatchery treatment plant.

- To stop the polluted water from directly entering the calumet river.

- To understand the existing site and the confluence.

- To help increase aquatic life.

INDUSTRIAL SUFFOCATION

1. Great Lakes industrial center`.

Gary works.

Industrial resource group.

Industrial.

BP whiting refinery.

American steel foundaries

Calumet lubricants.

Marathon petroleum corporation.

Circon environmental/ Beaver oil.

Suncoke technology.

Mittal steel plant.

Harsco metals

Dover chemical corporation .

PVS chemical solutions Inc.

LAND USE MAP

Community and neighbourhood study:

Community and neighbourhood study: Site is surrounded by industrial plots that cause pollution either by surface runoff or direct dumping inside the water. There are a lot of open land neighbouring sites that are sometimes used as dumpyards

Site location

NEARBY GROCERY MAP

SITE ANALYSIS

WATER CONSERVATION AQUAPONICS

Conserving water saves energy. Energy is needed to filter, heat and pump water to your home, so reducing your water use also reduces your carbon footprint. Using less water keeps more in our ecosystems and helps to keep wetland habitats topped up for animals.

Aquaculture in the Calumet:

By the 20th century, Fish population virtually disappeared due to water contamination

More than half of the fish population survived contained deformities, eroded fins, lesion and tumors

One in ten thousand fish within Indiana contain the same symptoms that existed in the majority of the fish populations within the Grand Calumet RIver

The number of worms, many of which were sludge worms, increased from 20 - 108 earthworms per meters squared to 2400 - 500,000 per meter squared

This reflected the low dissolved oxygen levels as well as the high levels of pollution if the Grand Calumet River

Aquaponic system: a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics

Producing native plants/crops that generate oxygen and naturally clean the water is another way we are planning on cleaning the water

90% less water than the traditional method

All natural fertilizer source from fish water

Allows continuous production of food

Produce is free of pesticides and herbicides

The most important thing is to make people aware of water usage and to treat the water from the Grand Calumet River and create a water treatment system for aquaculture

PRECEDENTS

To develop the intital design ideas and understand the spaces and the flow in a building after the inital research we decided to chose a few case studies which could help in developing the spatial planning and the movement flow inside the building.

The following case studies were made in order to understand the functioning of aquaponic system, transit terminal and water conservation facility.

1.Metropolitan farms- To study the Aquaponic system and the water circultation.

2. Granpa Co. Ltd.

3. Mediopadana station and Eden Project.

4. Hitchcock Center.

5. Brisbane ferry terminal

1. Metropolitan farms

Site area:50,000 sq. ft.

Site address: 4250 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60651

Built: 2015. Metro Farms is a project by Urban transformation Network. The Urban Transformation Network’s mission is to support and encourage the establishment of urban gardens on unused land and space while increasing diversity, raising awareness for conservation education, urban agriculture, and wellness, and inspiring and educating youth, adults and seniors to create an economically sustainable future in their community. Week 1-2

Tanks for

Aquaponic water cycle system

Week 3-4Week 5-10

Timeline for crop production

2. Granpa Co., Ltd.

Site area:50,000 sq. ft.

Site address:Daisan Fuji Bldg., 3-12, Furo-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa. Built: 2004.

A Granpa Dome is an engineering marvel. A sophisticated, selfcontained environment under an inflated fluororesin dome, the farm is controlled by the dome’s computer system which can be operated manually, automatically or remotely.

Granpa Co., Ltd. and its affiliated company Granpa Farm Ltd. (CEO Masanori Abe) constructed dome-type plant factories in Rikuzentakata.

3. The Eden Project

Site area: 30 acres

Site address: Devon, South West England Built: 2001

The complex is dominated by two huge enclosures consisting of adjoining domes that house thousands of plants and each enclosure emulates a natural biome. The biomes consist of hundreds of hexagonal and pentagonal ETFE inflated cells supported by a spaceframe of tubular steel domes.

Rotating plant bed

View

MISSION AND VISION

Mission

Our Mission is to clean and renew the river water from the extremely polluted Grand Calumet River. Doing this will not only help our site, but it will rejuvenate all of the water systems the Grand Clumet river connects to. The clean water will then be used in an aquaponic greenhouse system which will give the community fresh and healthy foods and also a safe environment for fish to breed and eventually repopulate the waters.

Vision

Our vision is to help out the community in as many ways as possible. Cleaning the water is just the first step. We plan to impliment a transportation hub that would not only give access to our site but also be a way for the surrounding community to gain access to travel modes to connect to the rest of Illinois.

Values

• To scrutinize the importance of Water Conservation

• To stop/clean the poisonous water before it meets the confluence

• To heal what’s lost or what’s disturbed due to human activities

• To promote a sustainable method of food production and water conservation

• To create a healthy environment for fish to breed

• To create Community, Business, Educational Opportunities, and Accessible Transportation

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SEPA STATION

Aerates the water

ETP STATION

Purifies the water

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Market Place to Sell the Food

GANDPA DOMES

Grows Food for Community

AQUAPONICS

Fish produce nutrient rich water WATER CONSERVATION AWARENESS FACILITY

Teach Public about Water Conservation

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ACTIVITIES

PUBLIC GARDEN

A communal space to interact with nature

VIEWING DECK

View the confluence of the rivers & the bond between water & land

LANDSCAPE SEATING Relax by the River

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AMPHITHEATER & FLOATING DOCK

Visitors access to fishing and kayaking

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GREENHOUSES MARKET

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Section A-A’

MATERIALS

ETFE -

ETFE (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) is a lightweight, heat resistant film that can be used for greenhouses and protecting solar panel cells. This material has the ability to reliably regulate environmental conditions within the building through UV transparency. The film can be printed with specific patterns and layered to control solar conditions. The surface has low friction which keeps dirt from sticking to it, reducing maintenance. The pillow-like cushion effect provide thermal insulation and stand up to wind and snow loads. ETFE lets in a more ambient lighting in the space. ETFE is recyclable and long lasting, making it a better choice over plastics. It holds up to intense climate conditions, is light weight, and cost effective. We looked into other materials but were inspired by the Eden Project to use ETFE with a spaceframe for our greenhouses.

STEEL SPACEFRAME -

A spaceframe is a three-dimensional truss based on the rigidity of the triangle and composed of linear elements subject only to compression or tension. Its simplest spatial unit is a tetrahedron having four joints and six members. A space frame forms a very strong, thick, flexible structural fabric that can be used horizontally or bent to a variety of shapes. The beauty of its open latticework web of lightweight tubular diagonals is only surpassed by its structural purity. We are using is to hold up the ETFE for the greenhouses. The spaceframe allows us to have four large open areas for the grandpa systems and the aquaponic fish tanks. These spaces then can be regulated to the necessary temperatures for the crops and the fish. We added other plants and trees to enhance the overall experince since we had already created an environment for plants to thrive.

GREENHOUSE PLANTS

PLANT SELECTIONS

1. Basil _ Basil works well in aquaponic growing conditions. Metro Farms grows basil and uses it as a way to teach the community about different types of greens. This is one of the only ways these underserved communities can get fresh basil.

2. Cabbage _ Cabbage is another green commonly used in aquaponics. It is utilized in many foods and is another green that underserved communities cannot receive from their small grocery stroes.

3. Lettuce _ Lettuce is also grown at Metro Farms. Another green crop that is used to teach the underserved communities about healthy eating and fresh foods.

4. Cauiliflower _ Cauliflower is another great vegtable to have fresh from the aquaponic garden. It also can be easily grown in the aquaponic system.

5. Tomatoes _ Tomatoes are a bit more wild than the other crops grown in aquaponic systems but they can still be grown here.

Tomatoes give the community a fresh fruit even if it tastes like a vegtable.

6. Strawberries _ Another plant on the vine, strawberries can be grown using aquaponics.

Picked for being tasty and hard to find in winter, strawberries will be a great addition to the aquaponics market.

GARDEN PLANTS

PLANT SELECTIONS

1. Indian Grass _ Midwestern U.S. native plant benefits soil and ground water around them. Many people can find Indian grass growing along the roadsides without noticing its power to detoxify common agro-chemical residues such as well-known pesticides and herbicides related to atrazine and metalochlor.

2. Sunflower_ sunflowers reduce different PAH level from soil, in an effective way, but what is really surprising is how varied range of contaminants they can accumulate. Heavy metals such as Pb, Zn, N, P, K, Cd, Cu or Mn seem to be its food, which is great news because sunflowers have a quick growth to start working soon.

3. Mustard Greens _ Brassicaceae species are really useful to accumulate certain metals while producing high quantities of biomass in the process, and Indian mustard is the star of this group.

4. Hydrangea _ This flower may reduce toxic metals and aid in future plant growth. With their tolerance to drought, and ability to attract bees and wildlife, these are a great choice to add to our garden.

5. Alflafa _ Not only does alfalfa help prevent soil erosion, but it also protects and improves the soil with its protective canopy, deep root system, and ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen.

6. Blue Sheep Fescue _ Blue fescue grass (Festuca glauca) is a colorful ornamental grass with silvery blue foliage and pale green flowers that turn buff-colored as they mature. It is drought tolerant and grows in USDA plant hardiness zones 4 to 8. Gardeners like its ease of care and its fine texture.

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