Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Ebb and Flow Where Man Meets Sea
James Tran 996544716 Advisor: Pina Petricone Thesis Proposal Document Submitted 28.04.11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
JAMES TRAN
Landscape and Design
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TABLE OF CONTENTS • • • • •
Site Analysis Tides/Energy Generation Case Studies Bibliography
2 3 23 42 59
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Exploration of alternative energies has been one of the most important topics of this century. Reliance on fossil fuels has come and advanced society for better and for worse; if mankind were to take home a message from this advance, it would be the fact that fossil fuels are not sustainable. In order to go beyond what is known and surpass the limitations of our current energy systems, we need to explore alternatives. Solar and wind energies have been extensively explored [site examples here] and incorporated into our built environment and contemporary culture. These alternative energies have made us aware of just how much we consume and how little we produce as a society. Solar and wind energies are ubiquitous, more sites have this resource readily available than other alternatives, such as geothermal or tidal energies. Nova Scotia is known for its 15 metre tall tides. Currently there is one tidal power generation station, Annapolis Royal Generating Station, capable of outputting 20MW of energy, equivalent to powering 16,000 households for an entire year given the average household consumption to be 4,377 kWh/yr. There are more potential sites along the Bay of Fundy; one in particular is the Minas Channel, which has the potential of generating 131 MW of energy. New technologies have been developed to harvest ocean energy (wave and tidal). Underwater turbines have been proposed for the Bay of Fundy. One interest that I have in mind is to incorporate this technology in an appropriate design that responds to the ecologically sensitive nature of the landscape. The region of the Bay of Fundy is complex, not only ecological and geologically, but in its cultural heritage and political boundaries as well. The waters of Bay of Fundy extend and border the United States (Maine) as well as Canada (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia). The tides constantly bring nutrient rich sediments as well as scour the shores and erode the landscape. The original inhabitants of this region were the Mi’kmaq, then the French and English; currently the region is a landscape spectacle that hosts activities that engage eco-tourism in the form of tidal-bore surfing, sea kayaking as well as tidal flat exploration when the tide is out. The sea levels are rising [site examples here]. There is a trend of building and living on water. One issue that troubles me is how these proposals from competitions actually get built. What is the basis of their tectonics? I am interested in the relationship between Architecture and the marine environment; how does one begin to build in this dynamic environment?
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Make central the architectural problem/opportunity.
This thesis looks for the emerging architectural opportunities, as eco-tourist constructs, afforded by the capture of this region’s inexhaustible tidal energy; and, asks what are the impacts on the physical environment and the implications of cultural identity for the Bay of Fundy.
THESIS ABSTRACT
SITE ANALYSIS | Bay of Fundy
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design 3
NEW BRUNSWICK
U.S.A. MAINE
Bar B Harbor Yarmouth
ofy y Baund F
Moncton M Mo Saint John ohn hn
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A V O
SC O A I T
Halifax Sable I.
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
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200 mi
N
200 km
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Figure 1a: Map of potential tidal areas and the amount of energy they could generate. image courtesy of offshore energy research, 2011 Figure 1b: Diagram of how an underwater turbine would be implimented in Nova Scotia’s energy grid. image courtesy of Treehugger, 2009
Bay of fundy | SITE ANALYSIS
1b
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
1a
SITE ANALYSIS | Erosion
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
5 SITE ANALYSIS: The region of the Bay of Fundy is very complex. It has a complicated geological history. This complexity has lead to a unique geomorphology which has given rise to the bay’s funnel shape which allows for a phenomenon known as tidal resonance or tidal amplification. This is why Minas Basin can have tidal amplitudes of up to 16 metres. Sediment transfer from the Atlantic Ocean into the Bay of Fundy and the erosion of the coastline has contributed to a nutrient rich environment. This allows for an abundance of biodiversity. The Mik’maq created fish weirs to harvest the abundant marine life. The Acadians took advantage of the nutrient rich opportunity by creating dykes called aboiteaus to farm the land and reclaim the marshes. Some of the natural phenomena become tourist attractions. One such is the tidal bore, where the incoming tide collides with the outgoing rivers, creating a true tidal wave. Other touristic attractions include kayaking, mudflat exploration and clamming to name a few. Only when one becomes familiar with the context and rhythms of the Bay of Fundy can one begin to design to compliment this natural wonder.
Figure 1a: Tides constant ebb and flow ware away rocks and the rest of the coastline. Figure courtesy of www.canusa.de
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
The coastal zone is in constant change. Land subsidence (sea-level changes), currents, tides, and waves are the four major natural processes working to modify the coastal zone. Other elements are also at work - wind, ice, salt, sediment, termperature and light. Generally speaking, the coastal zone is a high-energy environment, experiencing many natural abiotic processes that affect its existence. Today sea-levels are rising relative to the land, thus drowning the coasts. In general, the land is submerging 30 cm per 50 years along the Fundy coast.
ro rsbo
Par
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hi eC Cap
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Sco
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ie acad er i Rv
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0m sea level rise 4m sea level rise 9m sea level rise Figure 1b: The same rock during low tide. Photo courtesy of www.canusa.de Figure 1c: Sea level rising map: How the Minas Basin will look after levels of the sea rise. This also indicates the topography of the shore. Map adapted from www.flood.firetree.net
Rising Sea Levels | SITE ANALYSIS
as Min
Rising sea-levels lead to increased erosion, salt contamination of freshwater wells, and reduced intertidal habitat. In our geological past, ecosystems such as beaches would have moved inland; today there are more roads and buildings in the way of their movement. (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009)
SITE ANALYSIS | Science of Tides
Tides are casued by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon on the waters of the Earth. Because the moon is so much closer to the Earth than the sun, its influence is much greater. The moon takes 24 hours and 52 minutes to travel around the Earth; for the most of Atlantic Canada this produces two high and two low tides each day. These are called semi-diurnal tides. Each tide is 6 hours and 13 minutes apart. The tides change by about an hour each day, due to the extra 13 minutes in each one. (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009) Diurnal 3
1
High Tide
0
-1
Low Tide 12 Time (hours)
24
Semidiurnal High Tides
3
2
Tide Height (metres)
2
Tide Height (metres)
3 Tide Height (metres)
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
7
1 0
-1
12 Time (hours)
2 1 0
-1
Low Tides 24
Mixed Semidiurnal High Tides
Low Tides 12 Time (hours)
24
Full Moon (left) and New Moon (lower); greatest gravitational pull on the Earth. Result: highest high tides and lowest low tide (Spring Tides)
Sun and moon are at right angles of one another they pull in opposition. Result: the difference between high and low tides is not great (Neap Tides)
Figure 1a: Graph howing how a semi-diurnal tide system works. Characteristics are high tides are similar to other high tides, and low tides are similar to other low tides, over a 24 hour period. Graphs modified from NOAA, 2011 Figure 1b: Diagram of how gravitational forces of the sun and moon effect the earth’s tides. During a full or new moon is when the tides are greatest and the highest of high and the lowest of low tides can be achieved. When the sun and moon are at right angles, their forces work in opposition, creating minimal differences between the high and low tides. Diagrams modified from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009
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I have gone clamming on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. It was a wonderful experience I will not forget.
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Clamming is a popular hobby that locals partake as the tide is out. Quahog clams are located within half a metre from the surface of the muflats. Their biological cycle or circadian rhythm is tied to that of the lunar cycle and the tides.
Science of Tides | SITE ANALYSIS
Figure 1c: Northern Quahog Clam, Clam original graphite pencil drawing. Quahogs live buried just below the surface in the bottom sand or mud, with their two siphons sticking up into the water. Image courtesy of Carol Taylor Fine Art, 2011 Image courtesy of Steve Silvia, 2011. Figure 1d, 1e: Clamming during low tide. Image courtesy of Ray Cyr, 2008
SITE ANALYSIS | Site location
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design 9
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Section Cut | SITE ANALYSIS
SITE ANALYSIS | Floating Ice
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
11 In the distance, extensive mudflats, exposed at low tide are visible. Ini the foreground, several mediumsized cakes are groudned on frozen intertidal crust. The area of frozen crust a cake is resting on may become incorporated in the cake when the cake is torn from the mudflat by the forces of rising tide, offshore wind, storm surge or collision with other cakes which have already been mobilized by rising water.
Figure 1a: Transient ice flow stranded by the ebbing of the tide. Image courtesy of Sanders, 2008 Figure 1b: Aerial map of where the image above was taken from Masstown Beach across Cobequid Bay towards the South Bay of Fundy. The temperature was-10*C. Image courtesy of Sanders, 2008
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5. Pressure warped land, volcanoes erupted 210 million years ago.
2. Flooded by warm shallow sea.
3. Hopewell conglomerate formed 330 million years ago as mountains eroded.
6. Drainage changed as land tilted 15 million years ago.
7. Glaciers scourted the land one million years ago
4. Fossil-bearing sandstone deposited in Coal Age swamps 315 million years ago.
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
years ago.
Geological Processes | SITE ANALYSIS
Figure 1c: Geological formation of the Bay of Fundy to its present day. image courtesy of bayoffundy.org Figure 1d: Interpreted seismic cross-section showing bedrock and sediment layers in the Bay of Fundy. Up to 40 m of mud overlies material deposited by the retreating ice sheet during the last glaciation of North America. image courtesy of Natural Resources Canada, 2011
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
13 Currents are the movement of water. They have unique temperatures, salinities, and chemical compositions. Many organisms move with particular currents. Distribution of organisms are defined by these currents, resulting in a region of very diverse landscapes and species. Natural phenomena such as tidal bores occur and become a spectacle to tourism. Tidal currents, or their strength, can determine how large an entrance to a lagoon will be, and how much water will be stored in the lagoon during flood tides. Tidal currents are the result from the ebb and flow of the tide. This phenomena can be seen in the tidal rivers of the Bay of Fundy, where the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travels up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay’s current. It is a true tidal wave. Labra Labrador Current
Gulf of St. Lawrence ence Current Newfoundland
New Brunswick P.E.I
Cabot Strait
Nova Scotia
SITE ANALYSIS | Ocean Currents
Gulf of Maine Gulf Stream Figure 1a: Labrador current is cold currents, they move with low salinity southward. The Gulf Stream currents are warm. It moves water with high salinity northward. At Cabot Strait is where upwelling occurs due to the Labrador currents being forced upwards, bringing nutrient rich water to the surface, increasing phytoplankton activity and thus overall productivity. Dotted lines represent tidal currents, they are more complex in coastal situations where tides are significant. As the level of the water changes with an incoming or outgoing tide, so does the current. Map adapted from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009
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Ocean
Land Tidal Bore
Incoming Tide
River
- Sherman Williams, Herbert River, 2011 Land
Baxters Harbour, NS
Walton, NS
Avon River
Herbert River
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
“In a moment the nature of the river is changed: the bore tumbles over itself, hissing and splashing as it rushes forward reversing the current into a vigorous upstream flow. This event marks the beginning of the new tide that will fill the river in a few hours. At bore time in the Herbert River; the tide has been rising in the Minas Basin for nearly 4 hours. The bore has travelled about 25 km since it began forming in the Avon River, a little more than 1.5 hours earlier. It may travel up the Herbert for another 5 ort 6 km. In slightly more than 2 hours, high tide will be reached”
Hantsport, NS
Windsor, NS
Tidal Bore | SITE ANALYSIS
Figure 1b: Location of where the Herbert and Avon River to follow William’s narrative. Figure 1c: Diagram of how a tidal bore works. Figure 1d: Tidal bore along a river in Truro, NS photo courtesy of S. Williams, 2011 Figure 1e: Tour destination and recreational activity, photo courtesy of Sybil, 2010
SITE ANALYSIS | Tides
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
15 View from above to see the totality of the Bay of Fundy
Dramatic difference in the amount of water - covered land at the head of the SE corner of the bay during high tide on April 20, 2001, and a low tide on September 30,2002 (Visible Earth, 2010).
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Bathymetry to understand the depths of the Bay
Bathymetry | SITE ANALYSIS
Figure 1a: Physiography of Minas Passage based on multibeam bathymetry. Figure 1b: Interpretations, white arrow on top image indicates position of a bedrock ridge extending northwest from Cape Split (Shaw et. al, 2010).
Parks and Recreation Secondary Highways Transcanada Highway
Bay Of Fundy
JAMES TRAN
Landscape and Design
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Bay Of Fundy
Avon River
SITE ANALYSIS | Transportation
Annapolis River Wildcat Cove
Lahave River
St Croix River Pesaquid Lake Avon River
18 JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Shubenacadie River
Shubenacadie Grand Lake
Bay of Fundy | SITE ANALYSIS
Shubenacadie River
SITE ANALYSIS | Potential Paths
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
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Ship ferrys Potential Bridge
Figure 1a: Bay of Fundy Sites of Interest Map. It shows the relationship between coastal sites with the main arterial road, the Transcanada Highway. Circled is Minas Basin, my site of interest (Image courtesy of Mappery, 2011). Figure 1b: Map of Nova Scotia ferry terminals to New Brunswick and Maine. Circled in white is a potential bridge for vehicular transportation.
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$Billions
Year
Visitation by Market, NS 2005 vs. 2009 1200
In 2009, the majority of visitors to Nova Scotia were from other areas of Atlantic Canada (55%). Trallers from Ontario comprised 21% of visitors, while those from other parts of Canada represented 11%. American and overseas visitors also made a significant contribution with 9 and 3% respectively.
1000 800
400 200 0
Atlantic Canada
Ontario
Western Canada
2005
Quebec
US
Overseas
The period from 2005 to 2009 showed no change in the number of visitors from Atlantic Canada; moderate gains in Ontario (+8%), a significant increase in the number of visitors from Western Canada (+26%); moderate gains in Quebec (+2%) and declines in the US (-30%) and overseas market (-12%).
2009
Visitation by Mode of Travel, NS
Resident Travel in NS by Trip Purpose 2008
1500
2.5
1200
2.0
000’s
millions
1.5
600
1.0
300
0
Figures and text courtesy of Nova Scotia Tourism Industry, 2011.
0.5
Auto
Air
2005
Motor Coach
2009
RV
0.0
Pleasure
VFR Same-day
Business
Other
Overnight
For visiting NS, Over 71% of visitors to the province arrive by road. Of travellers to NS, 66% arrive by automobile, 3% by recreational vehicle and 3% by motor coach. 29% arrive by air. Nova scotians are travelling frequently, 6.3 million in-province trips. Resident travel provides significant benefits for the tourism industry and the provincial economy. (WVFR means visit friends and relatives)
Tourism Statistics | SITE ANALYSIS
900
000’s
600
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Nova Scotia Tourism Revenues 2006-2008 According to the province’s updated Tourism Economic Impact Model, tourism plays a significant role in the Nova 20 Scotian Economy. 1.82 1.73 1.64 Tourism Industry Impact: • Direct GDP $646 million 15 • 2% of Provincial GDP • Direct Provincial Tax Revenues $126 million 10 • Total Provincial Tax Revenues $173 million • Direct Federal Tax Revenues $105 million • Total Federal Tax Revenues $151 million 05 • Direct Employment 22,400 • Total employment 31700 • Direct Household Income $475 million 00 2006 2007 2008 • Total Household Income $795 million
SITE ANALYSIS | Ocean Boudaries
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
21 Boundaries and Boating
va No
Ne
Sc
a/ oti
sw un r wB
ick
ic ean c O
ry da n u Bo
Figure 1a: Boundary lines between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Figure 1b: Discretization of area for quantification of activities and risks Figure 1c: Geographic distribution of commercial boating operations. Figure 1d: Illustrative Chart of Ship movement, not actual data (Kendrick and Deveaux, 2000).
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Boating Business | SITE ANALYSIS
There seems to be more business dealing with docks on the New Brunswick side. Major boat transportation also seems to distribute itself towards the New Brunswick side. This as well as boundary limitations might play a role in design of Nova Scotia’s Minas Basin.
13,500 -10,000 B.P.
10,000 - 3,000 B.P.
3,000 - 500 B.P.
Kiskuke’k L’nu’k (Today’s People - early European contact & colonial era traditions)
Kejikawe’k L’nu’k (Recent People - Woodland Period & early European contact era traditions)
Mu Awasami Kejikawe’k L’nu’k (Not so Recent People - Archaic Period)
Origin of the Tides “Glooscap, the giant Indian god, wanted to take a bath. He called his friend Beaver and told him to find some water. Beaver built a huge dam across the mouth of a great river. Water backed up behind the dam and stopped flowing into the sea. As Glooscap stepped into the water, Whale stuck her head over the dam and asked, ”Why have you stopped this water from coming to my domain?” Not wanting to anger his friend, Glooscap got up and walked back to land. With a stroke of her mighty tail, Whale destroyed the dam and sent saltwater flooding into the river. As she turned and swam back out to sea, she set the water of the Bay sloshing back and forth, a movement it has kept to this day.” (FreshAir Interpretive Handbook, 2011)
Sa’qewe’k L’nu’k (Ancient People - Paleo Period)
SITE ANALYSIS | Mi’kmaq Culture
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
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500 - Present
Early Holocene Period
10,000 - 3,000 B.P. 5,000 B.P
Late Holocene Period
3,000 - 500 B.P.
500 - Present
Mi’kmaq Culture | SITE ANALYSIS
Kiskuke’k L’nu’k (Today’s People - early European contact & colonial era traditions)
Relative sea - level data for the Minas Basin shows that rapid late -Holocene tidal expansion began c.3,400 B.P.
Kejikawe’k L’nu’k (Recent People - Woodland Period & early European contact era traditions)
13,500 -10,000 B.P.
Mu Awasami Kejikawe’k L’nu’k (Not so Recent People - Archaic Period)
Catastrophic breakdown of a land barrier is related in the Mi’kmaq aboriginal legend of Kluskap, showing that aboriginal peoples observed the rapid environmental changes and preserved an oral record for 3,400 years (Shaw et. al, 2010). Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Sa’qewe’k L’nu’k (Ancient People - Paleo Period)
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12,000 -10,000 B.P.
B.P. = Before Present (1950)
early 1600
1635 - 1640
early 1700
1825 - 1860
1760
1755
1920 1960
Annapolis power generation plant constructed in Annapolis Basin. Capacity 20MW, can supply 4,500 homes.
The causeway on the Annapolis River constructed to protect the upstream dykelands from the tides and to replace a collapsed highway bridge.
Internal combustion engine replaced horses and demand for hay plummeted.
Many large new areas of saltmarsh, such as Wellington Dyke in Kings County were reclaimed.
First wave of expulsion began with the Bay of Fundy Campaign, New England settlers moved into Fundy region, Hay was becoming increasingly valuable crop throughout eastern North America to feed horses and for powering booming industries such as logging, mining and farming.
Last large area of marshland settled by Acadians near Truro.
First dyking undertaken near Port Royal.
SITE ANALYSIS | Acadian Culture
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design 25
Rich agricultural potential of the large tracts of salt marsh, if only the sea could be somehow be held at bay. Influences of dying technology carried over from France and Netherlands. First dyking was undertaken near Port Royal between 1635 and 1640.
1984
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
The Aboiteau - style Dyke and sluice used by the Acadians was ingenious. It is an adaptation of ancient technologies used in Europe (Ameriquefrancaise, 2010).
Acadian Culture | SITE ANALYSIS
Figure 1a: Acadians creating dykes (Geocaching, 2010). Figure 1b: Locations of salt marshes in Fundy region and the chart below indicates the amount of farmland is protected. Figure 1c: Diagram of how the Arbetoux works. Figure 1d: Construction of an Aboiteau. Figure 1e: A diagram of how the Aboiteau works. Figure 1f: An elevation view of how the Aboiteau works. Figure 1g: An image showing the preparation required to construct an aboiteau.
CASE STUDIES | Tidal Energy
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
27 ENERGY GENERATION/TECHNOLOGY: Tidal power is a type of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into electricity or other useful forms of power. Tides are more predictable than wind energy and solar. One of the reasons why tidal energy is not mainstream in the list of renewable energies is that tidal energy is highly site specific and traditional construction methods were not cost-effective. However, many recent technological developments and improvements in design types (dynamic tidal power, tidal lagoons, instream tidal turbines) and turbine technology (axial turbines, crossflow turbines) indicate that the total availability of tidal power may be much higher than previously assumed (Wikipedia, 2011). Tidal streams utilize kinetic energy because of the flowing volumes of water caused by the motion of the tides. The technology involved is quite similar to wind energy; however there are a few differences. 1. Density of the water to air, flow rate of water to air. Water is 800 times denser than air and has a slower flow rate, meaning that the turbine experiences much larger forces and moments, which will have to be taken into consideration when designing underwater turbines. The result is much smaller diameters. Turbines must either be able to generate power on both ebbs of the tides or be able to withstand the structural strain. Despite the potential for a reliable and predictable source, tidal energy systems are a relatively new technology and many technologies are in their testing phase still. The cost of utilising tidal streams will be very site specific and depend on the technology used. The turbine or other generating plant equipment can be considered to have a similar cost to wind, however, once installed, electricity will be produced with no fuel costs and be completely predictable. Maintenance costs will be the main costs during the life of the project. Tidal stream technology has the advantage over tidal barrages when you compare environmental and ecological issues. This technology is less intrusive than on and offshore wind, and tidal barrages, any hazard to navigation or shipping would be no more than that experienced by current offshore installa-
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Tidal Barrage Benefits: This technology is renewable, it has the ability to protect ports during storms by acting as a breakwater. It helps ships with navigation for shippping. Its reliable and precise.
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
tions. Tidal Stream systems often have to be installed in difficult coastal waters and the installation and maintenance methods are often complicated, but they hold the key for ensuring the success of the technology. Tidal streams are common in remote areas. This means that careful consideration of the wishes of the local community is required to ensure the scheme can work to its potential. Being under water avoids aesthetic problems and shipping navigation should not be affected provided it is taken into consideration when planning. The scheme can provide employment during construction and operation, which will add to the local economic prosperity. Also, these schemes are unique at present and would help to put the area on the map. The environmental effects of utilising tidal streams are in no way as severe as those for a tidal barrage. They will obviously affect the seabed where they are positioned and this might have an effect on the aquatic life in the area. This is again site specific and hard to predict; as long as proper environmental impact assessments are done then this can be avoided or minimised. Tidal energy has potential to become a viable option for large scale, based load generation in the Bay of Fundy. Tidal streams are the most attractive method, having reduced environmental and ecological impacts and being cheaper and quicker installed (Currie et. Al, 2002).
Environmental facts include: Changes in current, changes in suspended sediment transportation, salinity and quality of water, and migratory species of the existing habitat. Tidal Stream Benefits (opposite page): Underwater turbines are far less intrusive, they can generate the same amount of power as wind with smaller blades moving slower due to the density of water. There are more available sites, this form of energy harvesting is more reliable than wind, and it is usually more cost-effective than tidal barrages.
Figure 1a, 1b: Production of electricity through ebb and flood generation. Figure 1c: Underwater turbine technology act like wind turbines but in the water. Images courtesy of www.engineering-resources. com
Tidal Energy | CASE STUDIES
Issues: Fouling by marine organisms, this technology is new, and there aren’t the funneling effects that barrages receive. (Asif et. al, 2011)
CASE STUDIES | Tidal Energy
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
29 For Tidal Stream technologies, there are a few alternative designs: • Moored Vertical Rotors • Fixed Vertical Rotors • Morroed Horizontal Rotors • Piled Horizontal Rotors • Open Propellers • Ducted or shrouded impellors
Figure 1e: Moored Vertical Rotor Figure 1f: Fixed Vertical Rotor Figure 1g: Moored Horizontal Rotor, UEK Sea Kite Figure 1h: MCT Horizontal Rotor
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Tidal Energy | CASE STUDIES
CASE STUDIES | Tidal Energy
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
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Figure 1i: Piled Horizontal Rotor Figure 1j: Verdant, Piled Horizontal Rotor Figure 1k: Luna, Ducted Rotor Figure 1l, 1m, 1n: Ducted Rotor, Clean Current Power Systems
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Tidal Energy | CASE STUDIES
CASE STUDIES | Tidal Energy
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
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Figure 1o: Blue Energy, Vertical Darrieus Rotor Figure 1p: VORPC, Horizontal Axis twisted Darrieus Figure 1q: Orlov Rotor Figure 1r: Sea snail, Gravity based horizontal rotor. images courtesy of EAC Energy Committee and Simon Melrose, 2008
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Tidal Energy | CASE STUDIES
CASE STUDIES | Tidal Energy
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
35 Transverse Horizontal Axis Water Turbine by Next-Gen/Oxford. Underwater turbines that harvest tidal currents have already become an established technology in the world of clean energy. So in order to push the frontier further, a group of engineers at Oxford have been tinkering away on a design that promises to be even more powerful and efficient. The group recently introduced an innovative transverse horizontal axis water turbine that will not only collect more energy, but require 60% lower manufacturing costs and 40% lower maintenance costs.
Figure 1a, 1b, 1c: New generation horizontal access turbines from Next-Gen. Images courtesy of Inhabitat, 2011
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If a 100 MW wave or tidal generation power plant were to operate at its rated capacity over an entire year, it would produced 876,000 MWhr, or 876 gigawatt-hours (876 GWh) of energy (100 MW *8760 hours in a year). Because turbines don’t work at 100% capacity all the time, a capacity factor of 36% is assigned, which will produce 135,360 MWh or on avarage it will produce 36 MW of power production in a year (100 MW * 36%). So how many houses would the wave or tidal generation power plant serve? Using the average of 1.3 kW power consumed per US home, it would power 30,000 homes (36,000 kW/1.3kW per home). So a 100 MW wave geneator operating at 36% capacity factor produces the equivalent amount of energy in a year as 30,000 houses consume in a year. (Bedard, 2011)
Tidal Energy | CASE STUDIES
Figure 1c: This is a graph that shows the power usage of the maritimes compared with the power generation times of a MCT Turbine Power generator. Figure 1d: This shows the diverse ways that the maritimes employ to capture energy. images courtesy of Melrose, 2008
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
How many homes are served by a 100 MW (rated power) Wave or Tidal Generation Plant?
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
37 Assessment and Analysis of Tidal Technologies Canada’s vast and highly energetic Atlantic, Pacific and Artic coastal waters makes ocean renwable energy, particular tidal in-stream energy conversion (TISEC) and wave energy conversion (WEC), technologies an attractive option to help meet the coutnry’s future energy needs. Impacts on Physical Processes: TISEC and WEC technologies have the potential to result in changes to current flows, wave exposure, and associated sediment and coastal processes that could have direct and indirect effects on marine and coastal ecosystems. In addition to local effects, changes to energy flows caused by energy extraction could have farfield affects on tidal range, sediment deposition and ecosystem productivity. Similarly, erosion patterns along long stretches of coastline could be changed. Impacts on Habitat Characteristics: Changes to habitat characteristics resulting from the deploymnet of marine energy conversion technologies will be size, design, and location specific but may include direct loss or alteration of existing benthic and pelagic habitat, as well as changes to marine organisms associated with the addition of artificial structures. Due to the complexity and limited understanding of marine and coastal ecological processes and interactions, especially those in high-energy environments, it is difficult to develop accurate forecasts of the short-term, long-term, near-field or far-field effects of these technologies on marine biota and ecological integrity.
TECHNOLOGIES | Risk Assessment
The alteration of wave and current flows and associated sediment and erosion processes from TISEC and WEC development may or may not have long-term impacts on the structure of marine and coastal comunities by changing sediment re-suspension or deposition paterns due to scour or decreased current velocity, thus changing turbidity levels, and eroding or smothering benthic or coastal habitats; reducing downstream flow of nutrients and food supply for benthic filter feeders; or indirectly changing the type of prey available for other marine wildlife.
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Like other marine industries, TISEC and WEC development has the potential to degrade local water quality, with long-term implications for marine life. Substrate disturbance due to construction, maintenance, decommissioning activities, scour effects, changes in wave exposure, and current flows can lead to increased suspended sediments and turbidity, especially in areas with finer substrates such as sand or silt. Sediment re-suspension may directly cause deletarious health effects or mortality to fish, and increased turbidity could hinder the prey dectection ability of species that rely on visual cues. Impacts of Noise and Vibrations: The constant low-intensity soudns from operating TISEC and WEC have been compared to light to normal density shipping and a conventional ferry or subway, respectively. While there is a global effort to study the effects of noise in the marine environment generated by seismic air guns as well as shipping traffic, there have been wvery few directed studies of the response of fish and marine mammals to noises
Wildlife Habitat | TECHNOLOGIES
Figure 1a, 1b: Marine flora and fauna native to the Bay of Fundy, introducing tidal technologies could have an impact on their ecologies, altering their habitat and changing local distributions of food chains. Images courtesy of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Impacts on Water Quality:
TECHNOLOGIES | Wildlife Assessment
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design 39
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Wildlife Assessment | TECHNOLOGIES
CASE STUDIES | The Retreating Village
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
41 The coastal village of Happisburgh in North Norfolk is falling into the sea. The cliffs, dunes and sea defence structures that protect this predominately low-lying county and its extensive freshwater Broads from inundation cannot contend with the force of rising sea levels and climate change. Government policies that allow coastal retreat by failing to intervene with an active policy such as a Shoreline Management Plan, have conspired to leave the village undefended from the action of the sea and the wind. Questions/Aims/Objectives The Retreating Village looks at the threat of coastal erosion. The project questions whether vulnerable territories can remain occupied and considers how, if so, this occupation might be manifest. The project aims to propose an architectural language of representation and investigation that inhabits the disintegrating territory. The village of small houses and streets is designed to respond to the forecast rates of retreat in this area. It is predicted that the coast will continue to retreat at rates of as much as five metres per year. For the linear coastal villages of Norfolk this could mean destruction of crucial local infrastructure as well as housing in as little as a decade. A different model for coastal inhabitation that can survive and prosper in this disintegrrating terrirtory between sea dns table land is necessary. Settlements are organic and constantly changing. Villages have prospered, declined and migrated to new sites for a wide variety of social, cultural and economic reasons as they have responded to changing conditions. (Allen and Allen, 2008)
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Figure 1b: Lost homes are ghosted on the cliff, which is banded with remediating structures descended from the retreating village.
Kinetic models in two scales exhibit the process of collapse and the transient nature of the architecture as it shitfts to new ground. Figure 1d: A 1:200 model of the village shows two houses, a strip of cliff, arcs, beams, rope gardens, and the paraphernalia of haulage set in a circular base. Figure 1e: A 1:500 model shows the traces and trajectory of the village locked onto a frame on the cliff top. The faggots that reinforce the edge appear as the cliff recedes in response to the action of the weaves.
The Retreating Village | CASE STUDIES
Figure 1c: Cliff section showing repositioning and reconfiguration.
CASE STUDIES | The Retreating Village
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
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Figure 1f, 1g: Architectural devices that help the buildings to occupy and navigate an eroding land.
Domestic typologies and venacular architecture are replaced by a lexicon of architectural devices that allow the village to occupy and to take advantage of the precarious site and enable it to slide and shift to a safer land. A mechanical landscape is created of whiches, pulleys, rails and counterweights, mimicking techniques for hauling boats from the waves. This mechanical landscape also adopts an architectural language of impermanence, of permeable screens, loose-fit structures, and cheap materials that compliment and contribute to the nature of the restless landscape. (Allen and Allen, 2008) Images provided by Laura Allen’s document Research Output 2: The Retreating Village
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
As a case study I look to this project as inspiration for taking cues from the already built environment and adding to the existing context rather than creating something entirely new and out of context. Smout and Allen’s investgation and analytical drawings are very imformative, they point to possibilities in such harsh conditions. Their use of architectural devices is fascinating and insightful. Taking old technologies and employing them in contemporary ways to achieve the goal of coastal protection and erosion control shown in figures 1f, 1g.
The Retreating Village | CASE STUDIES
This project deals with issues of building in a changing environment, mainly erosion and building in an eroding environment.
CASE STUDIES | Confederation Bridge
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
45 At 12.9 kilometres, the Confederation Bridge is the world’s longest bridge over ice-covered water. Because of its phenomenal length, the bridge uses a multi-span concrete box girder structure. The design was produced by a consortium headed by a joint venture of J. Mueller International and Stantec. One of the unique features is that the piles were created to withstand the loading forces of the sea ice. (confederationbridge.com, 2011)
Figure 1a: Progress of making the bridge. Techniques of marine cranes as well as assembly on sea complicated the construction. Figure 1b: Sea ice below the bridge. The shape of the piers are specifically designed to relieve ice loading. Figure 1c: Schematic diagram of the relationship between the piers and the water.
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
This project deals with structure at an immense scale. It deals with the tectonics of the marine environment, and building in a cold climate. From this I admire and hope to understand how structures are designed and specified to withstand an immense amount of pressure not only from the erosional abilities of the tide, but with other forces such as ice. The Bay of Fundy typically does not freeze, however through site analysis before we understand that ice can get carried within the tide. These formations can and will collide against underwater structures, which will have to be taken into account when designed.
Confederation Bridge | CASE STUDIES
The program, which is essentially a commuter bridge, is something I am looking into as well since it might be possible to create a tidal bridge, creating a connection between two points. The span is only 4.5 km instead of 11 km.
CASE STUDIES | Tidal Resonance Chambre
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
47 Adjacent to the outstanding LEED Platinum Centre for Urban Waters in Tacoma, Washington, sits an exceptional new installation. Designed through a collaboration between artist Robert M Horner and erath builder Bly Windstorm, the Tidal Resonance Chambre is a “lab” created to study the tidal forces that have shaped the space between land and sea. The project inspires its users to connect the built environment with the natural in an intimate and contemplative way. Made from rammed earth walls set on a concrete foudnation, the space not only introduces sustainable construction methods and materials, but it is also able to evoke the mission of the centre by reinterpreting the site’s relationship to the neighboring waterway. (Inhabitat, 2010)
The design is wonderfully restrained - a sensitive use of materials paired with an equally sensitive development of space and context heighten the value of the structure. As the first rammed earth urban structure in Washington state, the Tidal Resonance Chambre is very much a teaching tool. The earthen walls surroud a small pool “filled with reclaimed curb granite fragments, river stones, clay substrate and native plantings that speak to the nature of the Puyallup River Delta and the large estuary in which the project is situated.” The pool is connected to sensors in the tidal channel below, which activates pumps able to fill or lower the water level in relationship with the tide. Clear glass tubes, evocative of the water testing lab, demonstrate the tidal ebb and flow and provide an entry point for light to permeate the confined space. (Inhabitat, 2010) Figure 1a: Sectional perspective of the tidal resonance chambre. It shows the proximity of the space in relation to the water. Figure 1b: Section through the tidal chambre. This shows the relationship of the water to the chambre. Though separated spatially, there is a powerful connection between the actual tidal water flow and the simulated one. Figure 1c: A view of the interior of this installation. The materiality is comforting in such a strange and wonderful space.
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Tidal Resonance Chambre | CASE STUDIES
This project deals with issues of the relationship between man and sea. Instead of being inundated literally by the sea, this project proposes to enclose a portion of the sea so that individuals can have a more intimate moment. How does one capture the ocean? How does one share the secrets of water? Horner and Windstorm have done so successfully and at an intimate scale. I take this project as inspiration to begin to change the minds and hearts of others as they begin to interact with the ebb and flow of the Bay of Fundy.
CASE STUDIES | Design and Power
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
49 The massive tidal range of the Bay of Fundy in eastern Canada offers enormous potential for renewable energy development through tidal in-stream energy conversion. Drawing from examples such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Eden Project, this thesis looks to define both building program and typology for the land-based components of this emerging industry. By focusing on the systemic connections between nature, technology and society, this project explores the potential of tidal-electrical power production in the Bay of Fundy, as well as how these facilities might help engage and support communities in the Fundy basin. (Baczuk, 2008)
Figure 1a: Sectional cut through the tidal barrage, showing variations of programmatic space. Figure 1b: View of the Hydrogen Cube. Figure 1c: Axonometric of building showing programmatic elements. Figure 1d: Section through a turbine assembly and research facility
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Program exploration is a key element. What activities does building in the Minas basin afford us? As in the project “Tidal Resonance Chambre�, I am interested in how society engages with the marine environment. Are beaches the only way to explore a coastal system? Or can architecture begin to break the stigma and introduce new ways of experiencing the coast.
Design and Power | CASE STUDIES
This project explores what is possible when one imagines a public power generating facility. Baczuk believes that these facilities are typically isolated and have no public engagement, which I believe is true. By designing for various public program these facilities can contribute to society’s understanding of consumption and consumption rates, which in the end will modify our behaviour. Figures 1a, 1c and 1d all talk about the types of program and hybrid spaces, which I do admire, however, I believe that a more respectful and less invasive way can be proposed to capture energy and engage the public. Tidal barrages can cause problems of sediment accumulation as well as species degredation, as seen at La Rance France. Baczuk uses a hydrogen cube to begin to store electricity, seen in Figure 1b. I think converting from one energy source to another as storage is a brilliant idea and one used in nature quite often especially in biological metabolism.
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
The objective of this design has been to employ architecture as a framework that mediates the technological sublime experience. Though the overall scope of the project may be largely improbable, the design has aimed to inspire ideas about what public power generating facilities might one day look like. This thesis serves as a reminder that power stations have not always been, nor must they continue to be the place-less non-spaces they are today. By re-introducing the public to the sources of electrical power and the functions of these facilities, I hope to nuture the connection between power production and social accountability. By means of public opinion and perception, architecture has the potential to incite change in the way governments and corporations acquire and distribute electrical power. Socially engaging programs, thoughtfully designed landscapes and humanized architecture has the power to inspire accountability and increase public involvement in the topics of energy sources and security. Moving towards our common future, issues of energy production and distribution will play eve more proominent roles in the provincial, federal and intergovernmental agendas, How we as a province - and a society - choose to move forward in this age of awareness will not only define our political identity, but will serve as a lasting comment on the moral position that we as Nova Scotians have taken as stewards of the earth. (Baczuk, 2008)
CASE STUDIES | TGreat Pacific Gyre Arch Exchange
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
51 Throughout our oceans, large shifting vortices mark the rare confluence of the planet’s constant rotation, converging oceanic currents, and spiraling wind patterns. The Great Pacific Gyre, located midway between California and Hawaii, is of these vortices, produced by an extensive system of converging ocean currents and winds. Anything released into the North Pacific Ocean will eventually arrive to this moving Gyre. These conditions form our site for the Great Pacific Gyre Architectural Exchange; a critical convergence point defined less by coordinates but more by conditions. Constructed on land and then drifted out to the gyre, our building is meant to serve as the meeting point for an international architectural exchange program. Students from along the Pacific Rim arrive by boat or drifting in order to enroll in a semseter long studio within a research atlier at the school, for a semester abroad at sea. (Wey, 2009)
Figure 1a: Perspective of the Floating Gyre out at sea. Figure 1b: Rendering showing the relationship between the spaces to the ocean. Figure 1c: Section of the Floating Gyre. images courtesy of Tiffany Wey, 2009 Figures 1d, 1e: Images of Andy Goldsworthy’s art installations from the movie “Rivers and Tides”
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Great Pacific Gyre Arch Exchange | CASE STUDIES
There is project by the Artist Andy Goldsworthy which is worth mentioning in juxtaposition to this project, on the following page (figures 1d, 1e). Goldsworthy describes the tides as a non-destructive process, which I believe Tiffany Wey and collaborators have done as well. Her use in the poetics of using the tides to carry the studio off into another realm to understand themselves in relation to the ocean is beautiful and sublime in one. I take from this precedent ways of creating poetry from the gesture of tides.
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
53 Having isolated pieces of a new environment and formed them into an unexpected artifact, then watched it dissipate back to its component parts in the larger setting, Goldworthy says, “You feel as if you’ve touched the heart of the place. That’s a way of understanding. Seeing something that you never saw before, that was always there but you were blind to it.” As the tide carries his driftwood igloo out to sea, spinning it slowly and dismantling its structural unity, he remarks: “It feels as if it’s been taken off into another plane, another world ... it doesn’t feel at all like destruction.” (Loftus, 2003)
CASE STUDIES | Rivers and Tides
1a
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1d
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
“There are moments when it is extraordinarily beautiful and a piece of work, and when it happen ... and those moments I just live for.” Andy Goldsworthy, Rivers and Tides
Rivers and Tides | CASE STUDIES
CASE STUDIES | Flux
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
55 Flux; the projbing of bouadries in this case between dry and water can generate new insights into the relationships of man to his natural environment. The location is a landscape where this is expressed as intensely as possible: the border region between the land and the sea, with sandbanks that are uncovered at low tide. The main principal for this design for living is optimal utilization of the environment, controlled by the natural habitat. The ‘flux’ house is entirely subject to changes in the landscape. High and low tides, currents, temperature and the wind are turned to advantage to achieve an autonomous energy economy. Changes in location makes the rooms in the dwelling larger or smaller and affect its orientation. This places restrictions on the layout of the dwelling. As compensation, the occupant is continually surprised by the natural elements that determine the form, usage and the orientation of the house. He experiences his relationship with the natural environment every day afresh. (Bureau Hans venhuizen, 2000)
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Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
Flux | CASE STUDIES
Amphibious living was a competition based in the Netherlands. They have a unique perspective on the environment since they are literally immersed in water. They have a philisophy of “letting water in” while we in North America “keep water out.” By opposing such a strong force such as water and tides, we are in an uphill battle. As a precedent I take from this proposal the idea of a floating architecture as a tectonic form in the marine environment (figure 1a). This is also one of the rare projects that actually begin to specify how the project might be built, as seen in figure 1b.
CASE STUDIES | Gyre
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
57 Gyre creates a new class of Eco-tourism by bringing scientists and vacationers together to understand what is the least known environment on our planet, the ocean. As much as a skyscraper is an economical method of reducing humankind’s footprint on land, Gyre goes a step further by juxtaposing that footprint to the ocean, and is perhaps its greenest feature. Its unique design permits the simultaneous applications of wind, solar, and tidal energy generation technologies thereby making it truly ‘off-grid’. Peaking at a depth of 400m, its ample space provides for a comfortable living and working environment, including space for shops, restaurants, gardens, and recreation. The centre piece of the design features a double - hulled vortex with both hulls being clad in reinforced glass, where each of the floor levels are essentially a layering of concentric rings ranging in size from 30,000 sq. m down to 600 sq. m. Inclinators riding along the inner structural ribs provide for vertical/diagonal transportation between floors. Total floor area of the entire structure (levels, radial arms, barriers) is approximately 212,000 sq.m (or roughly 40 football fields). The Gyre’s radial arms feature a pedestrian upper level and a transit system on the lower level to access to the outer protective barriers. The barriers create an inner harbour and port of approximately 1.25 km in diameter, accommodating the needs of even the largest ships.
Gyre is awe-inspring and encompassing as it is quite a resolved floating city. All the way from materials to structure it provides insight as to can be done tectonically in the marine environment. In terms of how it would hold in the Bay of Fundy it is questionable. I take from this precedent unique building materials such as ship hulls and question why advances in ship building technology has not been incorporated yet into architectural design.
Figure 1a: Rendering of the Gyre, with program such as ships docking. Figure 1b: diagrams of where the inhabitants are as well as what the structure is made of. Figure 1c: Section of the Gyre, comparison to the height of Empire state building for scale. Figure 1d: Plan and accomanying diagrams and perspectives. Images courtesy of Zigloo, 2011
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The first two levels of the Gyre’s vortex are dedicated to circulation, community gatherings, restaurants and commerce. Intermediate levels accomodate long-term residents, oceanic experets, hotel guests and crew quarters totaling as many as 2000 people. The deepest levels are dedicated to a scientific observatory for oceanographic research and an interpretive centre for public discovery of the depths of the ocean.
Thesis Proposal ||M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
In addition to using vertical axis wind turbines, electrical energy is also collected by solar means. Two applications of solar glazing are used: the first, a semi-transparent window is used facing the open-air, inner vortex; the second, a glass with a printed array of solar cells spaced to create partial shading, is used as a solar pergola or roof material. Furthermore, underwater nacelle’s function both as tidal generators when the structure is anchored and as thursters for propulsion when Gyre is under way. The structure manages undersea pressures and stresses by virtue of its shape. Rainwater is harvested in the inner vortex and graveity fed to the water purification system at the base of the Gyre. Mechanical systems and emergency freshwater storage basins are in the deepest portion of the structure.
Gyre | CASE STUDIES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Thesis Proposal || M.ARCH || John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture JAMES TRAN Landscape and Design
59 Bibliography: Allen, L., Allen, Smout. Research Output 2: The Retreating Village. Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. 2008. Amfibisch Wohnen, Amphibious Living. Bureau Hans venhuizen. Rotterdam NL, 2000 Asif, M.S., Khalid, M.S., Khuram, Ali, M. Tidal Power. Engineering Resource. 2011 Baczuk, E. Design and Power, defining program and typology for T.I.S.E.C. Developments in the Bay of Fundy. Dalhousie University Masters Thesis. Nova Scotia, 2009 Bay of Fundy Tidal Potential. Offshore Energy Research. http://www.offshoreenergyresearch.ca/OEER/ StrategicEnvironmentalAssessment/BayofFundyTidalPotential/tabid/122/Default.aspx Date accessed 20.04.11 Bedard, R. Power and Energy from the Ocean Energy Waves and Tides: A Primer. Electric Power Research Institute. May, 2007. Design and Construction, the Confederation Bridge. Strait Crossing Bridge Ltd. 2008 Glooscap Legends. FreshAir Adventure. FreshAir Adventure’s Interpretive Handbook. http://www.freshairadventure.com/glooscap.html Date accessed 20.04.11 Gyre-Seascraper, Zigloo. Competition Entry. Inhabitat. 2010. www.Fe57.com/architecture/unique-design-of-gyre-seascraper Date accessed 17.04.11 Introductory Module, The Physical Environment. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 25.3.2009 Issacman, A. Lee, H. Assessment of Tidal and Wave Energy Conversion Technologies in Canada. Fisheries and Oceans, Canada. Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat. 2009 Kendrick, P.R. Shields, P. Deveaux, J.P. Maritime Activity and Risk Investigation Network. Marin Research. Dalhousie University. 2000 Loftus, D. Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time – A Review. Documentaryfilms.net. 2003 Melrose, S. Tidal Power: Electrical Generation Methodologies and Potential Impacts. Ecology Action Centre. 2008. Michler, A. Tidal Resonance Chambre Makes Space for Contemplation. Inhabitat. 2010 Next-Gen Underwater Turbines, Inhabitat. 2011 Sonnichsen, G. Discovering the Bay of Fundy’s Seafloor. Natural Resources Canada. Marine Environmental Geoscience. Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic). 2011 Three Turbines Types to be Tested in Bay of Fundy. TreeHugger, Science and Technology. Tidal Power. Wikipedia, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_power Date accessed 20.04.11 Tidal Resonance Chambre. Earth Dwell, Stabilized Insulated Rammed Earth. 2010 Wey, T., Murphy, M., Paz, T., Yang, J. Great Pacific Gyre Architectural Exchange. Option Studio with Valerio Oligiati, Harvard Graduate School of Design. 2009.