CALUMET
Area map
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.
BP
CYCLE OF POLLUTION IN CALUMET AREA
Polluted Sediment
Clean Water in Lake Michigan
Gary Works Steel Mill
Landfill Runoff
Polluted Grand Calumet River
Sewage Overflow
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Water: Every single drop counts
- Saltwater: 97%, Freshwater: 3%, 1% readily available for human use.
AIM
Water Conservation
- To understand the practice of using water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage
Toxic Waste
Dredging
Polluted Lake Michigan Lower Fish Populations
- 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
- 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 little calumet river.
Fish with Deformities Decrese in Flora
- 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
- To understand the existing site and the confluence.
- To help increase aquatic life.
Human Health Issues
LAND USE MAP
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 site that are sometims used as dumpyards.
Site location
EXISTING TRANSPORT MAP
Nearby bus stops: -Torrence 136th/Entp. Center. -Brainard 131st. Nearby DIvvy bikeshare: No nearby stations within 2 mile radius of site.
Nearby Metra station: Hegewisch
DIVVY BUS STOPS
METRA STOP
NEARBY GROCERY MAP
There are no grocery stores in the 3 mile proximity of the site. The aim is to develop a market within the site to cater the large community with orgnanic food supply in their reach.
This map explains the scarecity of grocery stores for the community living in calumet region and the nearby areas.
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.
PRECEDENT
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.
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.
Aquaponic water cycle system
Timeline for crop production
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. Mediopadana station
Site address: Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, 42100 Reggio Nell’ Emilia Built: 2014.
Situated four kilometers north to the city center, the new Mediopadana Station will be the only stop for the Milano-Bologna high-speed railway line. As the city’s urban hub for various local and regional public transports, the new station will be a true transportation hub connecting the city with the rest of the world.
The repetition of a 25.4-meter long module consists of a succession of 25 steel portals spaced approximately one meter apart. The repetition
4. Hitchcock Center.
Site area: 9,000 sq. ft.
Site address: Amherst, MA, US
Built: 2017.
The Hitchcock Center, founded in 1962, connects people with nature and encourages a deeper emotional bond with the natural world that sustains us all. The Center helps develop a community that understands connections among human health, ecosystems and economies through educational programs that offer a particular focus on children, who live in a world of environmental challenges.
The orientation and shape of the building was optimized to take advantage of the sun’s power and charge the building’s 60 kW solar photovoltaic array.
5. Brisbane ferry terminal.
Site location: Brisbane, Australia.
Built: 2017.
In January 2011, devastating floods severely damaged or destroyed seven of Brisbane’s ferry terminals. To protect against the paralysing effect of future floods, Brisbane City Council undertook a significant upgrade programme for the Brisbane ferry terminal network. Aurecon and Cox Architecture won an open design competition, which attracted 65 submissions from around the world, to design new ferry terminals that would be resilient to future flood events and accessible to all.
Unique gangway floor mechanics maintain level intermediate landings throughout the tidal range provide what is believed to be a world-first solution for achieving compliant disabled access.